Tainted Starlight
by Vanessa Tolins
Summary: SEQUEL TO TWISTED MIDNIGHT!// Yaoi
1. Tainted Starlight::Chapter One

**Author's Notes**;;

*Dedications at end of chapter*

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Death Note or any of the characters. I'm just a fan and have no way to get you in contact with anyone, even if I wish I could. :)

**Warning 1**: This fic is rated M for Mature content. If you're below age, you should guide yourself away from this story.

**Warning 2**: This fic may contain spoilers.

**Note 1**: I have read the Manga, seen the Anime and the movies and will be taking things from each and blending the things I liked best from each. This is definitely A/U considering it is a SEQUEL to my other story, Twisted Midnight, so this is the only warning about that which I will give. Please do not get angry at me for not sticking to the Manga or w/e, this is my story and it technically takes place AFTER both characters have died. However, any constructive criticism, questions or just plain comments are always welcome. ^_^

**Note 2**: I really really like reviews. Why? It keeps me on the right track and keeps me motivated to write more. Your thoughts are always appreciated.

**Note 3**: This fic is a SEQUEL, and I recommend reading Twisted Midnight before reading this fic, although it is not _necessary_, references will be made to events that took place within it.

* * *

Chapter One:

I had been content with my lot in life, and I had been content with the manner of my death. Not everyone got to choose how they would die, nor did they get to know the exact time. True, I could have saved myself and the person who meant the most to me, but that would have been cheating. He'd tried to kill me and so I wrote my name down in a note book before he could then forced my own death so he thought his plan would succeed. It worked, and I was revived as planned, and the murderer responsible for thousands of deaths was put to rest himself, given a dose of his own medicine as he died of a heart attack. But the person whose name is written in the note shall die. If the name of a person is written in two note books, only the one in which it was written first will be effective. These were the rules under which I had agreed to, and to have backed out would still have been admitting defeat. And so I died, and knew there should be nothing waiting for me, but I drew a small comfort that the murderer shared my fate. Kira was destined for Nothing as well, for none who use the Death Note can go to either Heaven or Hell. In fact, I'd even counted down to the minute in which I would cease to be alive, the seconds ticking until my body ceased to function and my heart stopped working. So why, then, was I blinking up at a white ceiling when I shouldn't be seeing _anything_? If this was Nothing, then I was confused.

I heard a groan from beside me and I shifted, eyes widening in horror as Light Yagami was laying there. And he was _alive_, breathing, moving and opening those chocolate eyes. He flipped onto his side, his _left_ side, and smiled sleepily at me. "Hi…" I felt my throat constrict and I blinked, swallowing down saliva as my glands started working in over-drive. I was nervous. He blinked and sat up, looking a bit confused, and I followed the motion and matched it, hunching into my usual position. "Wh-where are we?"

For the first time I took in my surroundings. We were in a room that had white walls and matching ceiling, and we were on a white carpet. We weren't on a bed anymore and he was on my right…not my left. I'd left him on my left side when I'd…Had I used the eraser and just forgotten? Blocked it out of my memory? No…if that had been the case then he and I would still be in that dingy motel. What had happened? Where _were_ we? It was a good question and I shrugged, keeping my face neutral. "What's the last thing you remember?" The question was a simple one, but I was afraid of the answer. He was being _awfully_ friendly for someone whose demise I had just set up; for someone whose _world_ I had just brought to a screeching halt.

His brow furrowed and he ran a hand through that gorgeous hair which looked tousled from sleep and he answered, "I – I don't know. I mean, everything just seems kind of fuzzy around the edges. We were chasing Kira, trying to figure out if Misa-chan was the second Kira and you told me your plan as to finding out." He frowned and I could practically feel the concentration coming off of him in waves, "Then…I don't remember what happened. We were setting a trap for Kira…"

My heart, already fragments of a shattered mirror, ached and I had to wonder if this was yet another lie. "Light…"

He cut me off, eyes full of the passion I remembered from when we had been working together from before he had gotten his memories back, "Ryuuzaki…did we, I mean, did we get him? I don't remember..." He took my hand in his and I flinched but didn't pull away. "Did we catch Kira?"

I nodded, needing to look away from those questioning eyes, eyes that looked all too honest, and my feet fidgeted, toes in their endless battle with each other and I just said, "Yes. We got him." I gave his hand in mine a gentle squeeze and forced a small smile.

"Well? What happened? I – I don't remember. Who was he?" I couldn't believe he didn't remember, then again, he was no longer an owner of a Death Note – why should he? So that was how it worked, if a person owned one and gave it up or lost it due to death, they forget about it. Although I highly doubted the latter got reversed all that frequently, the dead did _not_ just wake up in foreign places all that often. Then again, that didn't explain me. Oh, right…if you'd touched a Death Note you didn't own, until you owned _that_ Death Note and forfeited or lost it, you wouldn't lose your memories. I opened up the watch on my wrist and then remembered the paper was gone and he said, "Isn't that…mine?"

I just shook my head and pulled my hand from his, switching to kneeling instead and I closed the distance between us, kissing him gently on the cheek. I slipped off the watch and carefully put it on his wrist, clasping the metal together slowly. "You." But I draped my arms over his shoulders and nuzzled his neck gently, inhaling the scent of him and he was _alive_ and I wasn't exactly upset about it. "Light, you were Kira, and we both died." I pulled my face away enough to look him in the eyes and said, "We wound up killing each other, even if the blame is indirect."

His eyes showed his obvious surprise and they locked on mine as if searching for something. "But, I, well I mean…I _can't_ be Kira…I'm not Kira, I know I'm not!" I couldn't go through this all again, the agony, and I started to move away from him and he asked, "You…you're serious, aren't you?" I took a deep breath and only nodded at him, my attitude somber as he wrapped his arms around my waist and I eased into the embrace slowly. "I – well, I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, but I know the truth, Light-kun." He shifted as if restless and I didn't blame him in the slightest for his unease. The unasked question burned in his eyes and I voiced it for him, "Then why am I…like this?" My hands found the back of his neck and his hair, combing through the brown tresses absent-mindedly. He nodded and I smiled, "Because I, well, you're obviously not Kira right now." I didn't really know why I still wanted to touch him, still wanted to be with him, despite knowing what he had done. Love was stupid; it made people stupid and made them do stupid things, like getting into a relationship with someone that was known to be an enemy. "Come on, let's figure out where we are and why we're alive." I thought about that as I stood up, offering him a hand which he took and amended what I'd said. "Or _if_ we're alive and not merely in some strange kind of afterlife." No, surely I would have been blessed with the same kind of memory loss if that had been the case. Then again, I would hate if I found out later that I hadn't remembered something. But if this were supposed to bliss it was surely lacking.

There had been no windows in the white room that had been about ten feet wide by twelve feet long, the only adornment had been the plush, white carpet. White, what a symbolic color, really, and I had to wonder at it as I tried the round knob of the matching door. Even the knob had been bone white. The door opened inward and the hallway, from what I could see, was a deep midnight blue. It was a rich color, one that often surrounded starlight. Most people thought the night sky was black, but it was actually a dark, dark blue. Deeper even than navy, deeper than indigo, it was the darkest a blue hue could be before being black and it was beautiful. _That_ was the color of the hallway. There were four doors in total, one which we had come out of, and I didn't bother looking in any of them because the one across from where I stood was all I could see.

It was the only thing that wasn't blue in the hallway and it had windows. They were a large set of double doors made from an ebony wood stained with black to enhance its natural color and each door had two windows in it. Outside the window was a scene of sand; and beyond the sand was water.

"Oh, good…you're awake." The voice that spoke sent shivers down my spine. It was female, and it was everywhere and nowhere all at once, and my reaction to it was immediate as every hair on my body seemed to stand on end. I turned to face the speaker and stepped slightly in front of Light, between her and him, and I saw she wasn't alone. There was a man and a woman standing at the other end of the hallway as if they'd always been there, only I knew they hadn't, or if they had they must have been invisible. The male was tall, almost seven feet, while the woman was barely over four feet tall. But no other word could be used to describe them other than man and woman, respectively, because they had a presence about them that belied that their age was uncountable despite a youthful appearance. Her hair was as dark as his was fair, his platinum blonde, almost white, and hers darker black than the wood of the door leading outside, but they had the same eyes: They had no whites in their eyes as any normal human would and instead the color was pure gold, the pupils gentle silver, serpentine slits. Their bodies were a mix of that midnight blue and gold swirls which constantly seemed to shift patterns and they wore togas of silver and blood red, but not the red of freshly spilled blood, no, it was darker color of blood already dry and turning closer to the shade of rust. Hers was draped over her right shoulder, leaving her left bare, and his was the opposite and I felt Light's hand slip into mine. "You did make us wait so…" Her voice was poutier now; it was a sound that matched her lips but not those fathomless eyes.

"Where are we?" I asked, getting down to business. "Moreover," I added, taking a brave step toward them and away from Light, "Who are you? Why were you apparently waiting for us?" She smiled secretively and looked over at the man before playing with a gold bangle on her wrist as if it were a habit.

"Who we are is none of your concern, L." My eyes went wide and I twitched. Who were these guys? "Light …" she focused her gaze on the younger boy behind me and I wanted to take a firmer place between them, but I didn't think Light's pride would allow me to do that.

Said boy in question stepped up next to me and, chin held high, "Maybe you could answer his other questions, then?" His face was proud, as I'd suspected, and I couldn't believe what was going on. Then again, after discovering the existence of Shinigami, I wasn't about to dismiss these two beings as otherworldly.

This time it was the man who spoke next, "Come now, they cannot go about their task without at least some information." They exchanged a glance that I didn't understand, then nodded, and he smiled in an almost welcoming manner. "This is my sister, Evandra, and I am Aaron. We are The Oracles and where we are is known as The Place Between," He opened a door on his right and said, "Please, join us in a meal. You are, after all, our guests."

Light smirked and said, "Wait…if you've got some task for us, and we're just supposed to do what you want, is there something in it for us?" I blinked, looking sideways at him and resisted the urge to hit him. "I mean…we don't know how dangerous this is-"

The woman, Evandra, cut him off angrily. "Are not your very lives reward enough? Is not the fact that you are standing here incentive enough, Light Yagami?"

It was then that I did something either incredibly smart, or incredibly stupid. "Wait…he doesn't remember!" Now I had their attention, all three of them, and I surged onward. "I will agree to help you before I hear your request on one condition: I want you to restore his memories."

**

* * *

Author's Note (again)**:

OK SOOOO

GO REVIEW? –pouts- please? :D

**UnePetiteLesbienne**;; I know, I know, I didn't wind up putting it in Twisted Midnight, so Aaron and Evandra shall be your does.  
**magyarova**;; Thanks for the review! I hope you enjoy the sequel as well. Also, I sent you a PM, hope you got it!  
**Freakitten**;; AWWW I feel rather special! :D I'm flattered you're going to print it out! Also, I'm glad you liked my ending, I was worried considering how A/U it got, but I had to set up properly for this one!  
**MANIC-DEMON**;; hahaha thanks for the conversation! And I'll IM you next time I go on AIM. ^-^  
**misswarchan**;; Well, as we discussed in PM, here is the sequel.  
**Ragamuffin**;; Ahem, well, I'm REALLY glad you liked it! And I'm glad I've been keeping you on your toes, so to speak. Hope this one does as well!  
**Pseudo Hanyou**;; I know, I know. :[  
**Shannara810**;; -Feels awfully intelligent?- And I'm glad I didn't keep you waiting too long for that ending! Alas, as for Mu, well…not so much. (For now, anyway.) Alas, what do you think of the sequel so far?


	2. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Two

**Author's Notes**;;

**Shannara810**;; hehehe YAY I'm glad you like it so far! And as for the Oracles, I'm drawing inspiration from several things, one of them being Angel, and just various others along with my own head. Ahem, as for their purpose, well, you'll see. ;)  
**Freakitten**;; A/U means 'Alternate Universe.' And yes, the Oracles _are_ supposed to be creepy. ^-^  
**Jasxn**;; I'm glad you like it!!  
**izzybelle93**;; Thanks. And, well, the whole memory loss thing is going to be explained… ^-^  
**misswarchan**;; haha you're welcome! I figured I didn't need any other description because those who have read Twisted Midnight are likely to read it if they liked the first one. And yes, Evandra is definitely…interesting.

* * *

Chapter Two:

Evandra was smirking at me, I _hated_ when people smirked at me. The funny thing was, it hadn't bothered me nearly so much before the first time I had died, when Kira had smirked victoriously at me as I lay dying in his arms. "You want me to restore _his_ memory?" Wait, what? Why had she made the distinction about Light? I nodded and her smirk turned into a semi-malicious smile. "But what about _your own_ memories, L?"

So that was it: my memories had been tampered with as well? Naturally I couldn't remember memories that I no longer possessed so I didn't bother trying to. Her smiled faded to an unreadable one, much like that of the famous painting Mona Lisa, and Aaron gestured once again towards the door he held open. "What have you done to us? What do you mean about my memories?" My voice was calm as I awaited an answer, and I ignored Light on my left as I kept my attention focused on The Oracles.

Again, Aaron spoke, and I liked him much better than his eccentric sister as he seemed more prone to explanations. "Both of you have lost memories; rather, memories have been erased. More have been taken from the younger one for a separate reason, but you have both lost your memories of the time in which you were no longer of the human world."

Light spoke up again, but he was looking at me. "So what you said before…about me being Kira…it was really true?" I couldn't look at him, _wouldn't_ face him. "No…" he whispered, his first reaction denial as usual. "How? I've never written in a Death Note." So, he _did_ remember their existence. It would only be natural considering he'd held it and we'd spoken so much of it.

"Come…let us discuss this further over food." I walked silently toward the door and the strange pair now. If they were going to hurt us they would have by now, or the food would be poisoned, and there wasn't much else I could do, anyway. And still I wouldn't look at my murderer and the one whose murder I had arranged in turn as he muttered that it couldn't be true. I'd learned much about the Light that had existed before he'd ever touched the Death Note, and I knew that Light was a good person. But when he'd picked up that book the power had called to him, lured him in, and replaced him with Kira.

This new room, definitely a dining room, was a nice sea-foam green. It was a soft color and everything in it matched, including the table and chairs set in the middle of the room. There was another door on one of the other walls and a single window on the wall opposite the door we'd come through. It looked out and, from what I could see, that direction was covered in a vast rain forest. Aaron gestured to the seats and I sunk into one of the plush-covered wooden chairs and Light sat to my right. "Now, about the restoration of your memories…this we are willing to grant because you will need them." His gaze shifted to Light, "Especially you. You know more about the Death Note than even the belated Death King himself, I believe. Or, you did, when you'd been using it in the human world." Light twitched and I finally looked at him, gripping his hand and was surprised to find it was cold as ice. I recalled the last time his hand had been that cold; he'd been dead.

"Aaron," I said, addressing him since he seemed to be the more talkative of the two. "What do you mean by belated, and who is this Death King?" I took a bite from the plate of food in front of me, noticing that Evandra and Aaron were eating as well, and I wondered if they _had_ to eat or if they were merely eating to be polite. The chicken teriyaki was actually good and I could practically taste that it was homemade, that all the ingredients had been harvested here, and that great care had been taken. I didn't know how I knew this, but for all I knew it was part of the metaphysics that made this place and these beings exist.

"I think, brother dearest," Evandra's voice cut in icily, "It would be best if we just showed them." She turned back to meet my eyes once more and then her expression softened, but only for a moment. "We can restore your memories from when you were Other, but someone else has requested return Light's other memories to him. We cannot in good faith deny his request seeing as, without his help and information, we would not have the leverage or hope to prevail against this new threat. The two of you working together is the only way. L, your sense of justice, your intelligence and your temperance will serve to keep Light on the right track. Light, your knowledge of the Death Note and your own genius is necessary to both challenge this new impersonator as well as challenge L's theories. You two have always argued and reasoned the slightest of decisions or the most insignificant of details, if you two would work along-side each other instead of at odds with one another, not only could you save everyone but your own souls as well. Think of this as your second chance at avoiding Mu."

And then it happened. The air wrinkled and shifted around me and my grip tightened on Light's hand. _I woke up and everything around me was gray. Gray skies gray land and gray trees_. The green was spinning around me and it was not only disorienting but nauseating. _I wasn't alone; someone's hand was in mine. My left to his right. I looked to my left and I saw a monster with a red tie around its head; Shinigami. And yet there was something familiar in those eyes. Light._ I fell from my chair and Light crashed down next to me, his hand leading him to the floor since it was still tightly in mine. _My own hand was deformed and dark. He was skeletal but still had a bit of his brown hair. My own vision was slightly obscured by my own hair which was longer than I remembered it being, and my own skeletal appearance was black as coal, black as my eyes had always been. When I stood up and finally took my hand from his, with the sound of bone clanking against bone, I looked down to see I was wearing all white and when I looked across to him he was swathed all in black, cloaked in shadows. And I felt something tied around my own head and reached up feeling a metal chain and I couldn't help but laugh._

And the memories rushed back, the sad desolation of being a Shinigami. It had been _boring_ and _Light and I had fought all the time_. Well, not _all_ the time. When we hadn't been fighting we'd been…debating. We'd ironically gotten to understand each other a lot better, and then we wound up fighting some more. Shinigami did not have sex, they lacked the correct organs, and so we got out our frustration and longing for physical contact by fighting. We also missed what we'd once shared. I looked toward him when my head had stopped spinning and saw the change in him. In Mu he'd admitted to me that, once in a while, there had been a rare moment where he didn't want to do it anymore; hadn't wanted to kill people to create a better world. But he'd felt it was his _duty_.

Being a Shinigami was so different from being a human, all our basic needs were Other, and so were we. We hadn't felt the need to show affection towards each other at first, but over time we grew accustomed to our new bodies and each other. We no longer had secrets from each other, truly all our cards had been played and the time for deceit had passed. Even then there had been rare moments of affection as the years passed and we fought less and less, growing all the less angry at the other for how our human lives had ended. Admittedly, when I told him of the eraser, there had been a period of six months where he didn't speak to me out of anger. But eventually that died down as well, and together we took to watching the humans – because they were interesting. We had spent ten years as humans reckon time as Other, and now I knew what The Oracles were talking about. There was a chance to avoid Mu if we helped them; and I was planning on helping them. Light's eyes conveyed the same message, but he still didn't have his memories of being Kira. Oh, since he remembered our time as Shinigami, he remembered conversations with me about him being Kira…but he didn't remember _being_ Kira. I was afraid, that once he did, and with him being human again he might wind up relapsing.

"L…" His voice was softer than usual and I looked at him once more, and I shifted back into my fetal-position-when-sitting usual but he moved back into his chair. When he offered me a hand up I had half a mind to refuse, but I didn't. I got back into my own chair beside his and brought my feet up, feeling rather exposed and, well, hurt. It was as if all the pain of all those fights were being relived in that moment.

Evandra's voice cut the silence once more. "It is not for the living to know the secrets of the dead." She was smiling a bit sadly and added, "By restoring your memories of Mu while in your human forms we have compromised much, but hard times call for measures such as these; measures that could destroy the very foundations of the worlds if one thing were to go wrong. And we are trusting you two, because there are no others suited to the task."

And then Light's crisp voice was in my ears once more, but not directed at me. "So…who is supposed to be restoring my other memories? And what is this situation Ry – L and I are supposed to be helping with?" Well, those _were_ good questions.

And then someone else entered the room through the other door. He didn't open the door, rather he walked through it closed, and the smiling Shinigami with razor teeth took in the scene and he laughed in an all too familiar way. "Hello, Ryuk." Aaron had spoken the words aloud, and Light looked at me, obviously remembering Ryuk from his time in Mu, but he couldn't see him now. I picked up an apple and tossed it to the Shinigami who caught it easily and started chomping on it. The fair-haired Oracle turned back to Light and I. "If you two recall, the death of the Death King caused a bit of a commotion in Mu?" I nodded, remembering the announcement that the Death King had first gone missing, and then when a pile of rust and sand had been found and, among them, the King's crown and scepter, it was determined he was dead. No one seemed to know the how or what, but the Death King was dead. Naturally, Armonia had taken the place of the Death King as, after all, the Shinigami had been the King's right hand man for quite some time. He was also the only one, aside from Light, who knew the Death Note's rules thoroughly. He had also been the one that initially offered me his eraser before I died as if to see what I would do.

Evandra cut in once again, "And we all know who took his place and how things have been since. Chaos has ensued since Armonia's reign begun with many more rules as to when Shinigami are allowed into the Human world and where they are allowed to visit. The Shinigami are too used to being walked over and, when they realize what he is doing, we're not sure they will even care. As long as their card games don't get interrupted, the Shinigami are more or less too dejected to do anything about it." Her attention focused on me, "I understand he made you an offer before you died." I nodded and waited for her to tell me how any of this was relevant. "Well, shortly before then he asked us for a prophecy. He even offered us some of his most precious gems as payment, for that is what we require. If someone wants something from us we require payment." Again, I nodded, what they were saying was making sense but I still wasn't sure how it pertained to the incident she had spoken about. "He had asked of the Death King's fate, which isn't unusual for him, but usually he barters with the King's funds as gifts. We told him that 'The two Chosen Ones, perfect matches in almost every way, who had fought over the fate of the mortals, would unite and bring down the Usurper. Alas, only after they have learned of themselves and of each other after death, can this be achieved to ensure the future of the Worlds."

And now I saw, because with words like those it had to refer to Light and I. Thus far everything matched, but they would have been unable to tell us earlier because there was no way to know it would be us before our events unfolded around us. Also, the idea of an Usurper was not definite for the future is ever-changing. If the future of the Chosen Ones had turned out differently, if Light and I had hated each other and never spoken to each other again, we would be unable to help in this instance. Then again, the Chosen Ones would not need to help if the Usurper had decided not to, well, usurp. "And if we refused?" I shot Light a scathing look, but it was good to know all our options despite his attitude."

This time it was Aaron who spoke once more, "Then you will be returned to Mu with no memory of this meeting." His gaze landed on me and those strange eyes burned into mine, "And this is a package deal, either you both help or all is lost. Without you two, all the Worlds will eventually fall under his command."

Ryuk's cackle announced itself once more and he said, "No pressure…" And then he made his way behind me and I spun, keeping a careful eye on him as he said, "I was the one who came to the Oracles for their help when I realized what Armonia was up to. I'd heard him ordering Shidoh about, and Shidoh is easily frightened and persuaded when promised protection. Armonia was using him but I could do nothing, except come here."

I turned to Light and relayed Ryuk's words, "Oh, just tell him to touch me with his Death Note already so I can get my memories back!" I didn't want this to happen, I didn't want Light to own a Death Note.

I reached out and asked, "Ryuk…is it possible for him to touch it and you retain ownership?" He thought about it a moment then shook his head. Apparently only humans who touch Death Notes owned by another human can keep their memories of it. "Very well. I want to own the Death Note, Ryuk." His reaction was one I was expecting, although the laughter lasted longer than I had thought it would, but eventually he handed it over. Ryuk was the sort of Shinigami to always own two, anyway. And then I felt it, the power of the Death Note's ownership. It was imperceptible to someone who had no knowledge of such things, but to one who had served in Mu the power hovering over the note book was obvious. And Mu _was_ a place that you served in to repent for the lives you had taken when using the Death Note. True, the system, like all others, had its flaws, but somehow it worked.

I owned the Death Note, until I forfeited it or died, it was mine. I touched a corner of it to Light's arm and he screamed. The scream didn't last as long as the last time he'd regained his memories, but the fear in his eyes was palpable, and sweat glistened on his forehead as he slumped in his seat. Reddish-brown met black and he said, "I believe you now."

* * *

A//N

Hmmm…I wonder what is going to happen? To be brutally honest, I'm not entirely sure! :D Alright, I _do_ have somewhat of a plan, though.


	3. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Three

**Author's Notes**;;

**misswarchan**;; :) Kira had to come back, because Kira was the one with the knowledge of the Death Note's rules, not Light. So, we'll seeeee. O.o  
**Ragamuffin/Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; -cough- yes, they have their, ah, special parts back…thankfully! And as for a skeleton, I really had a fib and maybe a femur. Shhh. And yeah, I hate when I read things where I'm like…errrr WHAT?!?! Where the reason for he/them getting out just didn't make sense…or just never got explained.  
**Freakitten**;; I can't answer your question here lol! You'll just have to see. But I will say this: Even in Mu, with all their memories attached, they learned to love each other again.  
**Shannara810**;; haha, I made very brief references to BB in TM, but this doesn't really have anything to do with him.

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Three:

He was back…Kira was back. But the thought didn't bother me as much as it should have because we were both different now. True, in the time in which we grew to know each other again, we'd both been Shinigami, we both remembered it now. We'd made our peace with each other, and with ourselves, in those ten years spent in Mu. But the feelings hadn't been the same seeing as our very natures had been changed. But even in Mu we'd learned to care for each other again. With human emotions and feelings, with human temptations, I knew that we still had a long way to go. At least this time we had somewhat of a foundation to build upon.

Aaron's voice broke through once more. "If either of you use a Death Note, Mu will be the destination for _both_ of you once more. You two must watch each other." I was about to say how that wasn't fair, but Light shot me a look that quieted me instantly. He had an idea? Should I trust it?

"Ryuk." The Shinigami's attention automatically went to his source of fun and Light pointed at Ryuk's other Death Note. "I want to own that one." I grabbed Light's arm and shook my head, silently pleading with him not to do this. But Ryuk was quick, perhaps still curious and bored enough to give in, and the Death Note was in Light's hands. His eyes flashed red briefly and he shivered, I could feel it while touching him and I withdrew my hand as if I'd been burnt. And then Light smiled at me, and it was _Light_ smiling and not Kira. He touched my arm with his Death Note much the same way I'd touched his and then, in an almost strained voice, offered it to Ryuk. "I forfeit ownership of this Death Note."

My mouth dropped open in surprise, but only for a moment, "Oh, Light! What's the fun in that? You didn't even own it for a minute this time around!" Ryuk's voice was obviously disappointed, and apparently The Oracles were just going to let us do what we wanted. And then I understood.

"Ryuk…" I said, and smiled almost victoriously. "I forfeit ownership of this Death Note." He gaped at me a moment and then he _had_ to take it back. And he didn't fade from view, we could both still see him, and we hadn't lost our memories. Because we'd each touched each other's Death Notes, we could still see the Shinigami and remember. But until I owned the Death Note Light had, and vice versa, and we each forfeited once more we would _keep_ our memories. And I was proud of Light for not keeping it and using it, once again, for personal gain. Apparently the thought of going back to Mu was enough of a deterrent for him, at least for now. And now neither of us actually owned a Death Note. I looked at him and said, "You're a genius, but you know that." He just smiled a bit smugly at me and then Evandra interrupted our silent, wordless conversation.

"I think that was well done. Even I could not see past that instant where Light owned the Death Note, for there were many paths spider-webbing outward from the moment. Now here are some things you ought to know about the Human world. The year it 2015, as you may recall, and I don't know how much you know of politics or-"

I cut her off and said, "We're big boys, we can figure it out. Besides, the last few years, we _were_ keeping an eye on the Human world. Perhaps not close enough for every nuance, but we know enough to figure things out. As for technology, I'm sure between the two of us we will easily catch up."

When we were all finished eating Evandra said, "Tomorrow morning you two will be returned to the Human World. It is up to you how you should go about this, for in reality you two are already dead. I do not feel comfortable re-writing history to allow you two to fit in once more; therefore you must figure things out on your own. I will have the guest-room prepared for your stay. Until then, please figure out a plan of action." And then she and Aaron were gone. Ryuk muttered something about Light having gotten boring since Mu and left as well, deciding exploration was better than hearing us have more debates.

"L…" I turned and looked at him, and he shifted his seat closer to mine and cupped my cheek in his hand. Oh the memories the simple touch brought back. Shinigami bodies had not the same nerve endings, the same reactions, and this had been something I'd missed. I turned my face into the caress, eyes closing briefly, and kissed the palm of his hand. I felt his other hand on my thigh and it slid inward, lightly brushing over the dip where thigh met groin and my need awoke. Suddenly I was desperate for him, ten years of being unable to, and I was kissing his lips, his cheek, his neck and his ear; any part of him I could reach was a part that fell victim to my lips, tongue and teeth. And he reciprocated as if just as needy for my attention as I was for his. He lifted me up and my legs wrapped around his waist as he freed one arm and swept it across the table.

I heard the clatter of dishes and uneaten food hitting the floor as his hand then fumbled with the button of my jeans. I tugged at his belt as well, giving in to my body's desires, and decided not to wonder if it was a good idea or not. It had been a long time for the both of us. And then finally we were both naked and his fingers were in my mouth. It wasn't long until he slid them, one by one, into my rear and the sharp pain returned. Damn, I'd forgotten how much it could hurt as he widened my opening as much as his fingers would allow, his other hand its usual distraction before he slid is own erect member in and I bit down on his shoulder so I wouldn't scream. When we'd been doing this on a regular basis, my body had adjusted and gotten used to the feeling of him inside me. But now it felt like the first time again and it _hurt_. He must have noticed the expression on my face because he stopped moving, his hand still stroking me slowly, and I took deep, even breaths and forced myself to relax. "Damn, you're tight…" he muttered into my ear, his breath ghosting across the flesh and making me squirm. "D-don't do that…or I won't be able to control myself."

I smiled and brought my lips to his neck, swiping my tongue across it and his hips bucked, driving him further into me and he hit that sweet spot that brought a low moan out of my throat and I only said one word: "Go." And he did, with each thrust it got easier and more pleasurable, the hint of pain an after-thought making the sex just that much better. And we were having sex, both our needs too great for the act of making love, as it had just been far too long. It was like a coke addict being clean for ten years and finding a very large bag of it in the place he'd least expected to. At this point he was sliding in and out of me with ease and I felt myself on the last leg of the climb. "Soon…" I said, and then it happened. I felt him release inside of me, filling me with hot liquid and I dug my stubby nails into his back. "Unnngghh," was all I could manage as my own climax surged forth and coated his hand and our stomachs. My vision was splotchy with little white dots dancing on front of my eyes as though someone had taken a photograph with the flash on and he slipped out of me and gently lifted me from the table. I wasn't initially sure as to why, at first, and then the carpeted floor was much more comfortable and I turned, letting my head rest on his chest as the reality of what we'd done hit me. So easily we had slipped back into old habits, and it worried me. Then again, it hadn't exactly been _unpleasant_. I chuckled darkly and asked, "Weren't we supposed to be coming up with some sort of plan?"

His own voice replied, amused and sleepy, "Well…until we know exactly how things are in the Human World we probably can only come up with half-assed ones anyway. It's really better we wait, or that's how I see it." I nodded and reached down, pulling on my boxers and noticed he was doing the same, and I realized we had been in the _dining room_. His own thoughts must have mirrored my own and he said, "They only mentioned one guest room…I wonder how many beds…"

I couldn't help it, I laughed. It felt like so long since I had laughed and I said, "Well…they _are_ Oracles, after all. They must have seen this coming." I climbed into his lap and kissed him deeply but slowly, just letting myself remember what it felt like. And I could have laughed again at how I had once thought kissing pointless. True, there really was no _point_ to swapping saliva, but it _did_ feel rather nice. "I wonder what time it is…or if your watch even works. Ten years…" and my eyes widened, "Wait…I wonder if there are bodies in our graves or if…" He shivered and I had to ask, "What?"

"L…you ask if we are our own reanimated corpses and you don't think the idea a bit…disturbing?" I shrugged and he laughed, tugging playfully at the ends of my hair, "Nevermind." And then we were kissing again and just enjoying the feeling of each other, enjoying that we _could_, and we didn't stop until we heard a chillingly familiar laugh from behind us.

"And here I thought I was saving myself from boredom and you two would be your usual, bickering selves." Ryuk was standing in the room once more and I felt blood rush to my cheeks, staining them slightly pink, but I just shrugged. "Humans are so _interesting_."

"I'm glad you think so, Ryuk." I started getting dressed and felt like I needed a shower, wondering where the closest one was, and I realized that Light and I didn't have to shower together. But he was getting dressed as well and, when we were both fully clothed, I said, "I hope this guestroom has a shower…" He only nodded and pushed his hair out of his eyes before sitting in one of the chairs. It wasn't long before the door opened again and Evandra entered, telling us to follow and we did. The guestroom was through the last of the four doors and was red and I couldn't help but allow a small smile as I noticed that. Red, the color of passion and temptation, and also the color of blood and destruction. The room was sparsely decorated and was mostly taken up by the large, round king-sized bed in the center with its red furnishings. The color red had a lot of meanings, the least among them getting past me, and I saw another door and it was open, leading into a bathroom in a yellow theme. There were windows in here as well and the scenery changed again to snow-covered mountains and I just shook my head, ignoring my urge for logic. "Get out, Ryuk…" I said, and headed for the bathroom. I paused a moment and grabbed Light's hand, pulling him with me.

And in the shower we made love, the intercourse slower this time and more meaningful as we relearned each other's bodies. It was blissful and dangerous, but I wasn't scared. I had always loved Light, and his decision regarding the Death Note earlier had made me feel even more for him. I was fairly certain the idea of going back to Mu for just himself wasn't enough of a deterrent for him, so it made me wonder if maybe – just maybe – he'd forfeited the Death Note's ownership because he knew _I_ didn't want to go back? Irregardless of why he'd made the decision, he had, and I was glad of it. I wasn't sure I would have done the same, in his position. We'd both evolved mentally from our time in Mu and he'd made peace with himself. Until the moment he'd forfeited the Death Note earlier, I hadn't been sure he was strong enough. We would beat this new Death King and figure it out, because now he was going to help me. It didn't mean I wouldn't watch him like a hawk, because I would. There was always the possibility he would slip and give in, but I was determined not to let it happen.

And while we lay in bed and he slept, before drifting off myself, I whispered, "I love you." And it was true. And the next morning when I woke up he was watching me and I shifted into a sitting position, an annoyed look on my face as pain reminded me of how it had been like the first time we'd had intercourse. I pouted and said, "It hurts!"

And he said the same thing he'd said the first time. "Want me to kiss it better?" And this time I let him, which naturally led us to doing things that merely warranted another shower afterward.

* * *

A//N

Alright, this fic is taking me longer to write because, unlike Twisted Midnight, it has to come completely from my head. At least in TM I had the canon to guide me.


	4. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Four

**Author's Notes**;;

**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; bahaha yesh, well, they are addicted to sex…and each other. We know this. I'm glad you like my writing, I have only to blame it on my need for description. As for 2015, it shouldn't be _too_ different, really. Well, I suppose we'll find out!  
**Shannara810**;; Really, the way I see it is that Light already _tried_ to conquer the world…it obviously didn't work out and he'd lost so much in the process. As for Near; I'm not much a fan of him, but he will be making appearances in Tainted Starlight.  
**MANIC-DEMON**;; Well, they did say all the world's would be effected. Not only that, but the Oracles wouldn't send them anywhere if it weren't important for them to _go_ there.

* * *

Chapter Four:

We were treated to breakfast before being sent on our way. The door we went through this time was the one connected to the dining room that Ryuk had initially come through. It led into a small, circular room that was purple in color and it had one other door in it. This room, like the white one, had no windows and Evandra looked at us much as a mother would when sending her children to school for the first time. "Now, if there are people you _can_ trust I suggest going to them. But be cautious, be wary, because people can change and they may no longer be those you once knew."

She handed each of us a bangle from her wrists and then Aaron approached us. "Those will allow the two of you to always be able to find each other, along with limited contact with us. But note each bangle will only work twice in calling us for help, and there will be some questions we may not be able to answer. If we cannot answer or help then it will not count as contact wasted, or we might use it and give you something else you need to know." He looked over at Ryuk and asked, "And what of you, Ryuk? Will you be accompanying them or returning to your own world?"

Ryuk gave a haunting laugh and said, "Their world is far more interesting than mine, Oracle. Besides, the happenings will be far more eventful in the Human World; mayhap eventful enough to draw the attention of the other Shinigami, especially if I am away. Their attention might wander and they might get enticed into action if that is the case. Then again, maybe that's just wishful thinking on my end, maybe not. Either way, L and Light are usually _quite_ entertaining."

"Aaron, Evandra…" I paused, searching for the right words. I would not thank them as we were going to be earning everything, and also, we _were_ technically doing them a favor. Granted, we were doing this for ourselves as much as anyone else since it would keep us from our own eventual enslavement and demise, but 'thank you' hardly seemed appropriate. "I appreciate this," I held up the wrist with the bangle, my right wrist, and continued. "I will consider your words carefully and only use this gift if I _need_ to. I would not waste anything as useful as this." _Nor would I use it unless I really couldn't figure something out on my own. The day I ask for their help will be a sad day indeed,_ I added silently and Light stepped forward.

"Thank you," he said, and I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised. "For this second chance…" and he looked at me. "And for this." He gestured toward his own left wrist, "They will be most useful." He looked toward the as of yet unopened door and asked, "So…we just go through there? Where will we come out?"

Evandra's quick, mysterious smile graced her features once more. "Well, that is debatable. Where would you feel safest?" I automatically said England and Light said Japan. We exchanged hurried, angry looks and I said Japan and he said England. She laughed and I forced myself to relax, taking a step toward Light and silently asking him to shut up. "Well?" she prompted and I held up a finger as if to say, 'give us a moment.'

"Light…remember when I told you about an organization that was L?" He nodded and I let my hand find his. "It's in England." His eyes widened in realization and I smiled a bit stiffly and it didn't quite reach my eyes. "The people there…are trustworthy. If you have a better idea, then by all means, but-"

"No…England is fine, L." I let out a breath and this time, when I smiled, it did reach my eyes. I would get to return to England, to Whammy House, if it were still there, that was. Well, I hoped Roger had taken good enough care of it and I heard Light speak again. "We're going to England."

"Light…" I said distantly, "Call me Ryuuzaki when we're not alone, ok?" He shrugged and agreed and I turned back to Evandra at last. "Winchester, England." He gave my hand a light squeeze before letting it go and my own hand closed around air and I stuck it in my pocket. She only nodded and closed her eyes in concentration, linking hands with her brother and he did the same. A cold wind swirled around the room and Light and I turned to face the door which disappeared completely. In its place was a vortex with each color of the rainbow, and then a whole array of colors I had never even seen before.

I shot one more hesitant look in Light's direction and saw his was one of determination and he stepped through. "Damnit!" Not wanting to be left behind I followed him, putting one foot in the colorful spectrum of light, and then I was surrounded by it. I didn't know where Light was but I kept walking, having to close my own eyes as the brightness of that which surrounded me grew to be too much, and then my feet were on something more solid in texture and I looked down.

Concrete, oh wonderful concrete, and I looked up. Light was to my right and we were on a deserted street and it was night. "Ryuuzaki…" he said and made his way toward me, hitting the face of his watch with his finger. "I think this thing needs a new battery." I just shook my head and searched my pockets for something sweet to eat. In the midst of unwrapping a lollipop I saw it: Whammy House. I grabbed his hand as I stuck the pop in my mouth and pulled him in the direction of the mansion, his vocals proclaiming his surprise at the sudden motion, and I half-ran and dragged him along for the ride. It had been _so long_ since I had been back here, _so long_ since I had seen everyone! I hadn't realized I had missed the place until I was standing in front of it.

"Wh-where are we?" I turned to face Light and saw him clutching at a stitch in his chest from having run here and I just pointed towards the place, my hand now free of his. "Alright, I see the damned mansion, is that like…organization headquarters or something?"

"I grew up here." The words had come out a bit awkwardly, but they were right. I still felt a tingle of alarm at showing this place to Kira, but then I remembered him forfeiting the Death Note and the fear was squashed. "Watari built this place, it's an orphanage, and the residents are all very intelligent…like myself." Looking at Light once again I realized he would have done well at the Orphanage if he'd needed to be there. "I was six, and up until that point Watari had been the one helping the police on his own. But he knew he needed a successor, and so I was trained and made to be the mysterious 'L.' And then we brought in other children to train to take my place if anything happened to me." I stilled and shook off memories and said, "Come…let's go say hello and hope they don't think me a ghost. There's much we can gain from them."

It wasn't until we were mostly up the long driveway that I realized the place was deserted, long since used, and I felt the first note of panic hit me. "No…" I kept going anyway, hoping that maybe they were still in there despite the decrepit appearance, or maybe some things had been left behind. Anything to help us in this quest. Light followed, though dubious and doubtful, and I could also tell he was slightly worried. For me? Maybe. But I needed to know what was going on. Investigation was necessary, and I broke in through one of the windows seeing as the door was locked and I didn't have a key. Also, the window was already open; countless homeless were undoubtedly living in the old mansion now.

I made my way toward my old room and turned to Light, "Do you have a knife…anything?" He shook his head 'no,' and I headed for the closet, "Lift me up." He said nothing, only complied and bent so I could sit on his shoulders. I ducked and pushed against the panel in the ceiling and slid it to the left and then my hands fumbled in the dark until I felt something alive. I withdrew my hand and heard a squeak. _Just a rat_, I told myself and placed my hand back inside. This time I felt a leather bundle and I pulled it out carefully. I handed it down and Light took it, tucking it under one arm and I grabbed the other thing I knew was up there; a rectangular tool box. "Down."

He bent and I climbed off of him and he finally spoke. "Ryuuzaki…are you going to explain why we're pulling cob-webby things out of the crawl-space above a _closet_?" I just grabbed the rolled leather parcel from under his arm and knelt down.

"This was my room." He shrugged, the information not meaning much to him as the room was empty save for us and now the items I had wrestled up from my past. I tapped the wall in front of me until there was a hollow sound and pulled out a screwdriver from the box. I stabbed through the thin wood, no longer feeling the need to care about the look of it since no one would be noticing in the future, and grabbed the flashlight from the box as well. "I set these things up in cases of emergencies…and because I could. I'd consider now a proper time for retrieval." I cleared dust until, with the help of the small light, I found what I was looking for. A small silver button designed to be hidden by a pipe and I pushed it. With a quiet 'click' the wall behind the pipes opened and I pushed at it, again shining the light in so I could see what was happening in front of me. I leaned forward and grabbed a white duffel bag along with a white knapsack and passed them back, ignoring that they were both also covered in cobwebs. And then I turned around, heading back into the main room, and kneeling once again. I pulled out the hammer and smashed it into the wood in front of me and it gave, shattering and splintering beneath the crushing blows. After a few more I reached in and pulled out yet another duffel; this one larger and heavier and black in color, and then I stood up. "We're leaving. No," I added, my head tilting to the side. "We'll check the other rooms just in case, but I doubt any of the others would have left much behind…nor would we be able to find any of it. But," I shrugged, "I suppose it's worth a try."

As suspected we didn't find much in the other's rooms, but we found some canned food and camping gear in Watari's old room, along with a card. I wasn't sure if it was debit or credit, nor was I positive it would work, but the name on it was one that I had never seen before. _Samuel Wright_, and I looked behind it to find passports. There were several, and the name Samuel Wright was on each but each had a different picture. One had mine, one had Near's, there was one with Mello and one for Matt. There was one other thing in that compartment: a small key as if for a safety deposit box. It was almost as if he'd hidden them where we would find them, like he had pre-planned in case this place ever shut down and one of us ever needed to come back here. I didn't feel the need to stay the night and, after eating a bit of the food and burning the other passports we left.

Well, it was time to test this new card and I headed for an ATM, checking the number on the passport and using that as the PIN. There was a moment where it processed and checked the information, and then it asked me what I wanted to do. The first thing I needed to do was check the balance, if it were an empty account then this was fruitless. But to my surprise, and it wasn't a bad surprise, there were several thousand dollars in the account. I withdrew a few hundred and pocketed the cash before withdrawing the card and making sure the screen went back to its normal greeting and we found a hotel. I used the false ID, glad they didn't check the expiration date, and the cash in my pocket to book a room for two for one night and we were given keys. They offered us a bell-hop for our bags but we refused, carrying our various packages ourselves. It wasn't until we were in the room I was ready to check the contents of the bags, after, of course, sweeping the room for any cameras or bugs.

"Ryuuzaki…" Light's voice rang out, and I was glad he hadn't used my real name. He was still being careful, that was good. "Are you _finally_ going to tell me what's going on?" I nodded and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to me and he joined me. It was only then that I realized Ryuk was nowhere in sight. I pushed the thought out of my mind and gave my attention to the sleepy boy next to me.

"All of this stuff had been mine when I lived at the orphanage. I hid them away because I could, because I was bored, and it was more games to me. True, I always knew they would come in useful someday just in case…but we might need this stuff." I grabbed the rolled leather and showed him various thieves' tools and a good set of knives. Then I grabbed the toolbox and it contained actual tools. I pulled them all out and revealed a false bottom which held a Polaroid camera and a few canisters of film. I slipped the rolled leather in there as well before putting everything back in the box. I opened up the black duffel and showed him its contents, the variety of small electronic devices such as cameras and wire-taps. Among its contents were two walkie-talkies and an array of different types of batteries. Then I pulled out the white duffel and opened it to reveal clothing, enough for both of us for at least a few days, and finally the knapsack. This contained paper documents and a laptop. More false passports and various types of paper and materials obviously intended to _create_ fake ID's. And finally the last thing that had been in the knapsack was a simple cell-phone paid for by the Whammy House and I could only hope it was still in function.

* * *

A//N

Whoah, L took lots of precautions, eh? :D He has lots of toys now!

Review?


	5. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Five

**Author's Notes**;;

Yes, I know, I updated quite a bit today but I wound up with a lot more free time than I thought I would! Also, inspiration hit and I was like 'just going with it.' Heh.

**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; Ha, yeah, paranoia at its best. And I will be addressing Sachiko and Sayu in a future chapter, promise! As for Soichiro…yeah, he was a bastard but I was going with the whole 'I'll shoot you then myself' thing from the episode where he put a gun to Light's head. Also, he blames himself for Kira, because he raised his son 'improperly.' Not only was his son a murdering bastard, but he was _gay_…And then there was Watari and L's promise to make sure his family would be provided for.  
**misswarchan**;; haha yeah, you'll see what happens next. I thought of Matsuda as well, but ultimately decided that they should try England first. -shrugs- P.S. I'm glad!

* * *

Chapter Five:

I took his picture and made him a fake passport. I had checked what they looked like now and fiddled with the first page so the expiration date would be correct along with any other changes, and when I was finally done I fixed mine. His name would be Leon Kilnsworth, but that couldn't be helped, and we practiced each others new names so we wouldn't forget to call each other by them. Then I made the both of us driver's licenses with our new aliases. He fixed his watch and fit new batteries into the walkie-talkies and set them both to the same channel. I fiddled around until I found the one the police were on and made a mental note before setting it back to our own private line.

And then I tried the cell-phone once it was fully charged and scrolled through the phone's options. Well, the phone got service and it _did_ have a few numbers in it from all those years ago when I'd first hid it. From memory I dialed the number for Whammy House in general and hit end when that annoying ding ding ding sounded and the operator came on. Thinking better of it I dialed once again and this time listened to the stupid recording. _This number has been disconnected_. "Come on…" I said, pulling the laptop onto my lap and connecting to the wireless internet and putting 'Whammy House Orphanage' into the search engines. I found articles about the death of Watari and their relocation several years ago.

My eyes went wide. _Relocation!_ That meant they still existed! I clicked and opened the 'contact' menu and got the number, dialing it and hearing an unfamiliar voice answer the call. "Whammy House how may I help you?" The voice was female and threw me off, but only for a moment.

"Uh, yes…I was wondering if Roger was available?" There was silence a moment before she informed me Roger had passed away about a year prior. I cursed and checked my findings on the internet and found the corresponding article. "Well, I mean…" and then I saw another article announcing Roger's scandalous replacement with the young 'Matt.' "Matt. Please, I need to speak with Matt." In the meantime I noticed they were now located in Haven and I committed the address to memory. I resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room when she asked for the reason of the call and I said, "It's personal."

"I'm sorry, sir, he's in a meeting right now." I froze and thought about that for a moment before asking who the meeting was with and whether it was a phone-meeting or in person. She hesitated long enough for a smile to turn up my lips and then told me it was in person and with the headmaster of a nearby school.

"Very well, please tell him to be expecting…Ryuuzaki." She asked if this would be personal or business, "Personal. Tell him…I used to live at the orphanage. Yes, that's right…I was one of his _brothers_." Her next reaction was priceless, telling me to wait a moment the meeting had just finished and Matt was now available if I would just hold? I agreed and relaxed, feeling closer already to the knowledge that I had found at least one of them. It was a whole other minute before I heard his voice. "Matt!"

There was a bit of stuttering on his end followed by silence. Finally, "R-Ryuuzaki? As in _L_ Ryuuzaki?" That was Matt, careful yet with a lazy attitude about it trying to ascertain my identity and be certain. I confirmed, "I'm so glad you're alright. I mean, you _are_ alright, right? Everyone is going to be so thrilled! I can't wait to tell everyone!"

"No, Matt, you can't! It's just…complicated. I know I'm kind of rising from the dead here and you probably think I've been hiding out all this time or something, but that's not it." Oh, and now I was confusing the poor boy. "Where are Mello and Near?" Apparently the two of them had squabbled over my position but Near had taken up the role of L and Mello had claimed the roles of Coil and Deneuve. Well, that was a relief that my names would be well taken care of, and I said, "How are things at the orphanage? How can I contact N? Or is he going under L?"

"No, he's let your name rest, Ryuuzaki. He has admitted to the death of L and is going under N." Another relief, but not an unexpected turn of events. True, it would make my return as L more difficult if I decided to pursue the line of detective once again, but I wasn't really planning on anything yet. I needed to know what was going on in the world. "Hang on, let me get the number." And I hung on, finally he came back and read out the number and I stored it away, locked it in the confines of my mind. "Ryuuzaki…be careful, and come by if you get a chance. I'd like to know what's happened to you. That whole Light Yagami fiasco…he was Kira, wasn't he?"

"Yes," I said, looking at Light and taking his hand. "Yes he was. Matt, there are so many things you don't know about what happened…and I'm not sure I can tell you any of it, but it would be nice to see a familiar face other than…" I stopped, having been about to say _Light's_. But Matt missed nothing, after all, it was what we'd been trained for.

"Other than what, Ryuuzaki?' I smirked and said nothing, letting him know with my silence I wasn't planning on finishing the sentence and he sighed heavily. "Very well. Maybe when this is over you could help train the new orphans? I mean, with Watari gone…you're the one best suited for the job."

Oh, Matt, if only it were that simple. But again I said nothing of my thoughts on the subject. "Listen, I have to go…" I laughed as Light began kissing my neck, his hand slipping under my jeans. "I'll…be sure to stop by." Suddenly he was stroking me and I whispered, "Nnng, stop that! Matt I'll see you soon." I shut the phone and turned to face my assailant. "You just can't resist distracting me when I'm on the phone, can you?" I sighed as he just kissed me in reply. "At least this time you waited until the call was nearly over."

"You're just very cute when you're distracted, besides, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I blinked, not understanding the reference, and he laughed as he brought our lips together again. "Nevermind…it's a movie quote." And then I wasn't thinking about movies _or_ quotes and he was 'distracting' me again.

The next morning was slow-going since I had to wait for him to wake up. It seemed I was back to my usual of not really needing to sleep. As Shinigami we hadn't needed sleep or food, neither did our bodies demand us go to the bathroom or shower. No, we hadn't even sweated as Other, but now we were all too human again and it was somewhat annoying. But the sex more than made up for the things we'd traded in, that and a pulse and being warm and being able to _feel_ things. We checked out and took the underground to Haven, and then a taxi to the new location of Whammy House. The place was bigger even than the other one had been and I remembered reading that the intake of orphans had gone up. Knowing Matt, this was to keep suspicions off of the place and the orphans that showed promise were the ones who were elevated to possible L replacements.

We were dropped off at the front entrance and Light and I grabbed all the various bags and headed inside. A cheery blonde with big boobs, blue eyes and no brain greeted us with a smile that faltered upon seeing my usual messy appearance. "We're here to see Matt." She blinked stupidly at me and I added, "I'm Ryuuzaki."

"Oh! Right this way, Mr. Ryuuzaki." And she beckoned for us to follow, "Who's your friend?"

She eyed Light appreciatively and he just smiled at her knowingly. It infuriated me for no reason I could think of and I said, "Just Ryuuzaki, no 'Mr.' And this is Leon." I took Light's hand and added, "He's with me." Her eyes widened and she coughed in a futile attempt to hide both her surprise and disappointment.

"The good ones are always gay," she complained and I choked back a laugh. Light and I exchanged amused glances and his told me he had definitely noticed the jealousy on my end. He _was_ mine, damnit! _Mine_. I gave his hand in mine a firm squeeze before letting it go. I was L, spoiled and eccentric, and I usually got what I wanted…and I was fiercely protective over things that were _mine_.

We were led into an office that was nicely decorated and told to wait a few moments. It wound up being more like five minutes, but finally Matt entered the room. He shut the doors behind him, eyes still for me and only me, and then embraced me heartily. It had been thirteen years since I had last seen him, and I hugged him back and waited for him to notice Light. It didn't take long.

"You…but," he pulled away from me and looked from me to Light, then back again. "Annette mentioned you brought a friend but, Ryuuzaki…what the _Hell_ is Yagami doing here?" He made a move as if he were going to punch Light and I stepped between them. "You…you're protecting him? It's his fault that you, I mean that we…L what is going on? Last night…" he said, eyes widening a fraction of an inch as he finally put two and two together and realized it equaled four. "On the phone you told someone to 'stop that.' That was _him_, wasn't it? What…was he doing to _distract_ you so? I watched those tapes, L! There is no way he should be alive right now…"

"Then you know I disabled all the cameras before my own death and that both my body and his were found elsewhere?" He nodded, speechless, and I was glad Light was letting me do the talking. These were my people and I assumed it was all he could do to keep up with the fact that we were speaking English like we had on the phone. "I was going to save us both, Matt. I was planning on bringing him back to life…and running away with him." I took a seat in one of the plush, comfortable seats by the desk and took a deep breath. "I couldn't do it. That's why my body was found with his." I looked at him, really looked at him, and I saw that the last thirteen years had aged him. He had grown into himself and he looked good. And that's why I don't look any different than the day I had died. I _did_ die, Matt…just let it rest that it's a long story as to why I'm here now, why we both are, and we need a place to stay."

He looked like he was going to have a fit, or a seizure. Apparently the fact that I had had a relationship more than had been released to public knowledge with Kira bothered him. The fact that the body had been the body found with that of Light Yagami had been of L had also been one of the facts not released. But the fact that I hadn't put it in the report that I had sent to Matt was what really bothered him. I knew him well enough for that. I knew he wouldn't care about the relationship being with another male, he and Mello had that kind of relationship. But I knew it would bother him that I had been with _Kira_. I could also tell he wasn't OK with harboring a mass-murderer that was supposed to be dead. Harboring a dead detective was a different story, but that had been before he'd found out said detective was banging said murderer. "L…how could you? Does…have you contacted Near, yet?" I blinked, a bit confused and just shook my head 'no.' Matt took a seat behind the desk and put his elbows atop it, resting his head in his hands. "Do you know how many times we said, 'If L were here?' And now you _are_ here, but…" His eyes shifted to Light briefly before he added, "Your word he's not going to kill any of us?"

"Would I put any of you in that kind of danger? I would _never_ allow him near here if I felt him a threat to any of you!" I stood up, angry, and wanted to punch him for asking such a ridiculous question.

"L…nothing against you but, love makes you do the wacky." I looked at him, clearly confused, and he laughed. "Trust me, I would know." I just rolled my eyes and took a seat once more, gesturing for Light to do the same. He shot me a look that clearly said he'd understood every word, and I shot him a look that told him to keep that fact quiet. Just in case, we had that ace up our sleeve. "Alright, so when can Mello and Near find out?"

We all caught up, switching to Japanese, and Matt filled us in on current events we hadn't gotten from that morning's paper as well as other various things and gave us a tour. He showed us to the training rooms, both physical and mental ones, and I wanted to play with all the new technology. There were touch screens and an actual robot that Matt had built that acted as a maid. It even had the right proportions to be female, an ironic quirk of Matt's I assumed since he was bi-sexual. Mello was gay and really just preferred men. Matt, on the other hand, had an appreciation for both genders but when push came to shove he really just preferred Mello. Mello and cigarettes, that was. And when he asked if we wanted separate rooms my answer of 'no' obviously angered him, too. But he kept his mouth shut this time, which was in his favor.

* * *

A//N

Hmm, so what do you think? O.O


	6. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Six

**Author's Notes**;;

**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; Ha, they _are_ horny, sex-addicted men and I have never denied that! As far as L and his lack of keeping quiet is concerned, don't forget his dormant fondness of exhibitionism? And Light definitely likes making L squirm, otherwise he wouldn't keep touching L at 'bad times' like when he's on the phone or at the dinner table. Anywayyyy, yeah. :D  
**Shannara810**;; Ha, yeah, Matt's being good…for now. We'll see. And you will be finding out the reactions of Mello and Near very, very soon.

* * *

Chapter Six:

It didn't take long for us to get settled in, and we'd been invited for dinner. I'd given Matt my and Light's new alias' of Sam and Leon, and he'd taken them up easily enough. Apparently dinner would be a private affair which Mello originally wouldn't be joining us for, and I asked if he could call Mello and Near for it as well. If I had explaining to do I might as well do it once and not three times. He'd agreed after I promised I _would_ explain things, and then he'd left us alone. I was actually nervous about dinner. Everyone at the table would know Japanese, so I wasn't worried so much about the language barrier, but I hoped that Near and Mello would take the news better than Matt had, although I seriously doubted it.

Mello had always been a bit of a loose canon, at least Near had been reliable. Dinner would be late that night since we needed to wait for Near to get in from his flight via private jet. He'd been in Africa helping with a crime there, and so, we waited. Mello's arrival was loud, as predicted, demanding to know why he had to come back early from his hunting trip. He was on a vacation and didn't like it being disturbed. Matt's assurances that the interruption would be worth it fell on deaf ears and finally Matt just clammed up and said nothing more on the subject other than all would be explained _later_. At one point he made a stop in our room and asked if he could _please_ tell Mello I was here; the blonde was being _quite_ unruly. I denied his request, I wanted Near and Mello finding out at the same time, and I also wanted to watch their reactions.

All that day we had monitor after monitor up displaying things happening around the world and every news feed possible going directly to our room. I wanted to know why we'd been sent back to the Human World, and I didn't want to use the bangle so early. Honestly, if I couldn't at least figure this out on my own then this quest would end in failure. Finally it came time for dinner and there was a knock on the door. The robotic maid was standing there with an envelope in Matt's hand-writing. _I know you two probably got wrapped up in work, so in case you haven't been paying attention to the time…GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE! P.S. – They are both here._

"Well…here goes nothing," and I walked in front of Light, leading the way and unsure of the reception I would receive. They must have been wondering who the extra place settings were for but when I opened the door there were many things I hadn't been expecting. A small, white-haired person flung themselves at me and I wrapped my arms around the lithe body gently, cradling him in my arms. He blinked up at me with those eyes that were eerily similar to my own and I nodded, "I'm really here…" And then his eyes looked past me and narrowed in anger and confusion. He trembled a bit and pulled away, pushing me aside and launching himself towards Light. I stuck out my foot and tripped him neatly with a sweep kick and he rolled, glaring at me. "Sorry, Near…I can't let you do that."

"Then let me." I looked toward the new familiar voice and saw blonde hair set in a feminine style and Mello was holding a gun. And it was aimed at Light's head. Everyone in the room was frozen and then Matt stood up, approaching Mello cautiously.

"Mello, don't do this," I said, pleading with my eyes and taking a step between him and Light. This was a very dangerous situation, one I didn't much care for. "Please…just let me explain!"

"All this time we thought you were dead…do you have _any_ idea how much that hurt, L?" I held up both my hands, showing him I was unarmed, and he took a step toward me. "Do you know how much turmoil you not selecting your heir caused?"

"Mello…I _did_ die and I honestly didn't have time to pick. Also, you and Near were so closely matched. Working on my own obviously hadn't worked out for me, considering I was going to die, I had _hoped_ you two would work together." I sneered and struck, grabbing the gun and pointing it at the ceiling while my other hand hit the crook of his elbow hard and the gun fell into my hand. I disarmed it and took it apart, pocketing all the bullets before giving Mello back the pieces. "Now, we can all be civil, can't we?" I pointed to the dinner table set with food that didn't look half bad, but my eyes were all for the cake. "Let's eat and talk, and let me _explain_."

I watched as Mello took comfort in Matt's closeness, but Near was only staring at me with those wary eyes. He was drinking in my every movement and I took a seat at the round table. It was round because no one ever wanted to claim head of the table, and so this way we were all even and able to look at each other. I began to explain, and to their credit they listened in silence and allowed me to, and Light filled in any gaps I left in my story. The two of us explained slowly while eating and when we finally got to the point where The Oracles restored our memories it was nearly midnight. I explained about the prophecy and the Death Notes, and then I skipped to the part about the portal, not wanting to go into details about the time between. But Near's eyes and ears missed nothing, and Mello wasn't one to be fooled, either. I still had not told them about my relationship with Light. They didn't really need to know, or that was my opinion. But, like Matt, they would find out eventually anyway, right? "So if we kill him…" Mello said, glaring at Light once more, "Then we're basically destroying any chance the two of you have? I don't buy it. Let _us_ help you instead of that creep! We would be much better help than _him_!"

Near looked towards Mello, "I agree. We would be much better suited to helping you, although I do understand that a criminal," and he looked at Light once more, "Might be better help in understanding another criminal." His black eyes shifted to me once more, "But we would be better help. Besides, what's to say he won't start killing again?"

There was a knock on the door and Matt got up, opening it enough to slip outside and closing it once more. Muffled voices through the door weren't loud enough for true eavesdropping, but when he came back in his face was grim and he looked slightly pale – he was glaring daggers at Light and he was holding a piece of paper in his hands. I felt frozen, rooted to the spot, and he threw it down in front of me. The headline read: **Kira Returns**. The article (which Matt read aloud) detailed the deaths of three criminals that were definitely the type that Light would have killed during his initial reign of being Kira, and I looked at him, wondering if it could be true. His return to this world was almost too coincidental and he stood up, fists clenched. "I'm being framed! This is a set-up. L…I swear…I didn't.."

But Mello apparently had other ideas and had a different gun out and trained on Light once more. I stood up and took a step away from Light as I tried to figure out what the truth was. If he was killing again then everything we'd done was pointless. There hadn't been any _time_ for him to kill, unless he'd set it up while I was sleeping? It just seemed so unlikely. Then again my feelings had compromised my judgment in the past. I read over the article once more before making a decision. I closed the distance between Light and myself, looked him in the eyes, and said, "I believe you, but I'm not sure if I should. Do – do you understand?" His eyes widened and I knew I'd hurt him, but he'd always been a great actor. "Light…if you did this please tell me."

"L, I swear to you I didn't do this! I don't have a Death Note, you can check me and everything on me! I promise I didn't do this." There was a note of desperation in his voice and I shot a look at Mello and he lowered his weapon, but he didn't look like he wanted to. But there was only so long a person could hold a gun comfortably until they either used it or had to put it down, and it was clear I didn't want him to use it. Light took one of my hands in his and I jerked it back, taking a step away from him.

"No…I'm sorry. Light I – I need space. I need to figure this out." I gestured to the article once more, "I really want to believe you…but I can't." I sat down once again and crossed my arms on the table, my forehead sinking into my forearms and I felt his hand on my back. "I really hope you're telling the truth…"

"I am." He knelt on the floor next to my chair and I turned to face him, my hand coming up to stroke his cheek. "L, please believe me." And that was when everything went wrong and the others figured it out; the extent of my relationship with Light.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Mello, of course, and he looked like he was going to flip out. "Oh, this is rich. No _wonder_ you two were found together in that motel. I'd always wondered why you stopped all the cameras, what you'd been doing…why you tried to comfort him in his last moments. Please, tell me this is some sort of sick joke?" I looked from him to Near and then stopped. Near was sitting in his seat with a blank expression on his face as if he were going into shock, his eyes looking in my direction but it didn't appear he was actually seeing me. And then Mello's voice claimed my attention once more and I noticed Near snap back into reality. "L what the Hell do you think you're playing at?"

Near stood and looked over at Matt, "Excuse me." And to my surprise he left, his exit of the room swift and I was tempted to follow but I knew better. When he was ready to speak to me he would, for now, though, _he_ needed his space this time. This was turning into a much bigger mess than I had thought it would. Maybe I had made a mistake in attempting to find help from these three, or, at least help that wouldn't come at the cost of Light's life.

"L, I didn't kill anybody! I've been with you all this time, I didn't have _time_!" I put my hand over his lips to still them and I took a shuddering breath.

"Light, I really hope so." I stood up once more and pulled handcuffs out of my back pocket. I'd hoped I wouldn't need to use them, but I'd kept them in my pocket just in case. I slapped one on his right wrist and pulled his other hand to join it behind his back. I connected the other cuff, this chain was short, and I made sure they were secure before pulling him towards our shared room. "Well, this will tell the truth." Once in our room I stripped him of all but his boxers, having cuffed each wrist to the iron rail atop the headboard of the bed, and I said "You'll have to stay chained for the next twenty-four days."

He nodded and wouldn't look at me. I was betraying him and he stuck to his story that it wasn't him; _he_ hadn't killed those people. He was being set up. And I wanted nothing more than to take his word for it, but I had to be sure. This seemed the only way to be positive. "Light, how did you kill that one man that had been broadcast while you were under surveillance at your home?"

"A mini LCD was inside the chip bag and broadcasting the news to me, and I'd also taped a piece of the Death Note inside as well." I nodded, he truly was a genius, and so I couldn't put it past him that these murders might be him. "L, I didn't do this…I don't want to go back to Mu…please believe me…"

"I wish I could…I wish it were that simple. But I can't, please understand that, Light. I'm sorry."

The door opened and to my surprise Matt came in. "Kinky…" he said, but his eyes were serious. "I think we should set up surveillance, it would be the easiest way to ascertain his innocence…and L, you shouldn't be the only judge."

"Matt, I'm fine. Believe me I didn't _want_ to do that," I pointed at the bed and knew I would have to make other sleeping arrangements – that would not be comfortable for him. Well, I'd cross that bridge when I got there. The thought of video cameras in the room bothered me only because it would mean no sex. Ugh, was that really more important than proving Light innocent? No, it wasn't, and so I finally agreed. "No, you're right…I'm biased. Do it." And he left without another word and I took a seat next to Light on the bed, "Light…I really hope you're right."

"I swear I didn't kill them! This is totally un-necessary. You'll see - when criminals start dying and I'm not writing…you'll see." And again the true ring of his voice made me want to believe him, and I knew if he were really innocent he would be angry at me later. But this really was the only way to figure out if it was him or not. "L…please believe me." He pulled at his chains in annoyance and I ignored him as best I could, which wasn't very easy, and I waited. Finally Matt came back in with Mello and they started the process of covering the room with cameras. Light's voice rang out once more, taking both of them by surprise, "Make sure there aren't ant blind spots."

And it was just too Kira-like that I couldn't ignore it. "Where's Near?" I looked at Matt, hoping for an answer, but it was Mello who gave me one.

"We…couldn't find him. He's taking this really hard, L." He shot me a look I didn't understand and I headed over to help them in setting up the cameras. "He's always been in love with you." I stopped and just looked at Mello for a few long seconds, taking in the new data, and I shook my head. I'd never known…never known how Near had felt. Would it have changed anything? Probably not, I didn't feel that way about him. I looked over at Light, the only person I ever _had_ felt that way about, and I really wanted him to be telling the truth.

* * *

A//N

Soooo…..Light, is he innocent or guilty? O.o


	7. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Seven

**Author's Notes**;;  
**Shannara810**;; I know…it's all very sad. Well, we'll find out this chapter if it's Light or not.  
**Freakitten**;; LOL!! Well, I finish a chapter and I post it. I usually wait until I have at least one review before starting a new chapter. :)  
**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; Yes, well…this leads to the question is Near in love with _L_, or is he in love with the _idea_ of L? How well does he actually know L, anyway?  
**Crescendoll**;; WOOOT, I'm glad you like my writing and my L. :D And yes, yaoi IS a drug. Ahem, so are reviews…

* * *

Chapter Seven:

Twenty-four days passed slowly, and the deaths trickled in as well. And they were all criminals that had been announced _before_ Light had been chained to the bed. Things weren't looking good for him, but I didn't think he was doing it. But I wouldn't know until those days had passed…and I actually hoped criminals kept dying. I'd been spear-heading another investigation just in case it _was _a new Kira, but so far, if it was, he or she had done nothing to give themselves away.

Near had been avoiding me, but on day twenty-two I ran into him more by accident than anything else. We stood outside by the swing-set, other orphans playing happily; blissfully unaware of the turmoil I was in. He was sitting on one of the swings and I took a seat on the tire swing next to him and tucked my feet up as usual.

"You're in love with him." It wasn't a question and so I offered no reply, merely looking at him and wondering if he would keep speaking. And he did, "L…why? He's a killer…he killed _you_."

"I know…and I killed him, too. If he and I had just left each other alone I'd never have met him. True, my life would be a lot less complicated, but…he-" I stopped, unsure how to continue.

"Does he make you happy? Does he make you laugh, L?" He was looking at me as if studying me and I nodded. "I can tell you care about him a lot. I can't understand why, but I do know you can't control with whom that whirlwind rears its ugly face. It's uncontrollable and ferocious, and it _hurts_." He was still staring at me but I saw a flash of pain in his eyes. "Even if he isn't the one killing this time…he's still a murderer."

"He paid his time in Mu, Near…it is not for us to judge when someone's sentence is complete." I shivered as I recalled the cold depths of Mu.

"But you were with him…it really couldn't have been all bad if you were there with him, L." I couldn't look at Near anymore, those too-black eyes so much like my own were much wiser than they had been all those years ago. "We missed you…_I_ missed you."

I got up and knelt in front of him on the ground, my head now slightly lower than his, and I put my hands on his shoulders. "Near…I'm sorry. I know I left you here, but I didn't really have a choice. I _do_ love him, despite my inner voices of reason, and I fell for the enemy." I pulled back and saw tears in his eyes and then he was hugging me again.

"L, I'm sorry…I'm acting like a child. When you died I still _was_ a child…it destroyed me, but I pushed onward. Seeing you that night at dinner brought it all back. The pain, the _emotions_." He pulled away and I couldn't see any trace of the tears that had been in his eyes. "For your sake, I hope he's not killing people again. But, L, the circumstances _are_ rather suspicious…even you have to admit it."

"Yes, it's why I agreed to let Matt and Mello cover my room in cameras." He blinked, surprised, and I sat back on the tire swing. "Yeah…he's under twenty-four seven surveillance."

"L…I want to help. I want this whole thing over with, so I'll help you with your quest."

I looked over at him and said the only thing that would mean anything, "Thank you." And we sat there in silence, but after that Near stopped avoiding me. I wasn't sure how he felt about me, exactly. I was pretty sure I had sunk in his opinion considering the like of who I was now in a relationship with, but he was helping me and that meant a lot to me.

And then the twenty-four days were over, and the killings stopped. The criminals stopped dying and so we left the cameras in place and I had to leave him chained up. I still slept in the same bed with him, hand-cuffing each of his wrists to my own while we slept. If he moved, I would know, and as we pushed into day thirty of that arrangement we'd pretty much stopped talking to each other. It was like this I woke up on day thirty-two, my right wrist clasped to his left and my left to his right, and the door was pushed open. Matt's voice rang out and he was holding that morning's paper. We both sat up quickly and hit our heads together, and he cursed and I just looked at Matt.

"Another criminal died last night." My world stopped and I processed the information, and then I kissed Light. I pushed him back against the bed, my fingers lacing with his, and I kissed him like I would never stop. _It's not him!_ It was all I could think, and then we had another problem. Someone was killing criminals and framing Light. "I'll remove the cameras now…" I heard and I ignored him, my attention solely on the boy I was kissing. And then he pushed me away.

I blinked, confused, "Just undo the stupid cuffs. I hope you're happy." I did as he asked, bringing my hands up to frame his face. I _was_ happy to know it wasn't him…but he didn't look very happy with me. "L, I _told_ you it wasn't me!"

Light had been the only person to ever make me feel the emotion guilt, aside from Watari. But I had been introduced to the feeling because of Light, and I felt it now. It was true, he'd told me it wasn't him…and I hadn't completely believed him. "I – I'm sorry. Light, I had to put the safety of the world above how I felt for you…" I pulled him into a hug and felt how tense he was, "Please…Light, please understand."

"I do…and that's the problem. I," he turned to face me, nuzzling into my neck and I didn't dare relax just yet. He was angry with me for tying him up and doing what I had to do. He was angry at me for not believing him. But how could I when, the last time around, so much had been ruined because of him? "Just let me out of this room! Let me get dressed, let me walk somewhere that _isn't_ the bathroom, for crying out loud!" I merely nodded; I didn't like him using this tone of voice with me. I didn't like him mad at me, but what had I been expecting? Happy endings? I'd learned a long time ago they weren't for me.

I pulled away from him and let him get dressed. There was no sense of privacy for him those past thirty-one days, and so I supposed he could deal with getting dressed in front of the cameras for one more, and then he joined me in the hallway. I was hunched over with my hands in my pockets and feeling…withdrawn. I was suddenly envious of turtles and their hard shells they could hide in. "Light…I'm sorry."

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed the back of my neck. "Forget it…just, next time I tell you I'm not Kira, don't do that to me again?" I nodded and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I wish those cameras were out of our room already…" I smiled, I couldn't help it, and I kissed him briefly before taking his hand and pulling him towards the base we were using to try and locate this new Kira. It had been thirty-one days and he hadn't left us any solid kind of clue. But if he'd been intending to frame Light, at least he had messed up in that way. It meant he hadn't known about the confinement. _That_ was a relief, anyway. It means he had under-estimated us. Perhaps he'd suspected we would suspect Light, but maybe not so soon? Well, whoever this new perpetrator was, they were dead wrong. And Light's name was cleared!

Mello only gave us a scathing look as we entered, eying our joined hands distastefully before bringing up a few charts. Matt, on the other hand, greeted us both with a cheerful smile and Near curled up on his section of the floor that he had claimed, his train set circling around him as he set up dolls. I wasn't really sure what he was doing, but we each had our own methods and our own odd quirks. Near was intelligent and I had complete faith in him; I was just hoping this wouldn't get any of them killed.

Now that we knew Light wasn't Kira, the team's efforts doubled and I pulled Light out of the room. "You wanted to go to Japan…who were you thinking of?" He pulled me into a hug and, after the initial surprise was over, I just hugged him back, clinging a bit.

"Matsuda and Mogi, maybe my mother…" I nodded, logically speaking they would work. "Probably not my mom or Sayu, though. I wouldn't want them to get into any danger because of me. Besides, I don't know if Sayu would be able to mentally handle my return." It was true his sister had started to slip towards the end, and her sanity had dropped considerably to the point where she had to be in a wheelchair in the time before Kira's downfall. We'd checked in on her once while in the Shinigami Realm…her condition had only worsened due to the deaths of her father and brother. "Aizawa would be willing to help, I'm sure…"

"I'm sure he would. The building should still be under Whammy ownership, I will ask Matt if we can use it once more." He nodded and I pulled away from his embrace somewhat sulkily, and I led the way back into the main room. "Matt…remember that building I had constructed while in Japan?" He nodded and I rushed onward, "Well…Light and I need to make a trip back to that area. I'd like you three to continue working here and, once there, he and I will join up with a few people who helped us the last time and hopefully with everyone working together we can figure this out. Where there is a Death Note, there is a Shinigami…and Ryuk's absence bothers me a bit. Light," I turned to the younger man, "You know him best. Would you put it past him to be coaching a new Kira?"

He thought about it for a moment, "I don't think Ryuk would ever _coach_ anyone. If people had questions, he would answer them if he could. As for dropping one of his note books somewhere after the, ah, disappointment of us he might be bored enough…but the situation we're in is serious. I can't be certain, but I don't remember him following us out. Maybe The Oracles had a word with him before he left…gave him a task of his own?"

I nodded and said, "You would know best." And I took his word for it, it was the least I could do, and he _did_ know Ryuk better than most. Near…the jet you took here, how much fuel does it have? Can it get us to Japan?"

He looked at me briefly and said, "No," before turning back to the piece of paper he'd been looking at. "I'd suggest stopping at the airport."

I nodded and heard, "When are you leaving?" This, from Mello, and I just raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Suddenly it doesn't _look_ like Lover Boy is the bad guy this time and you're buying it? Seriously, I think you're losing your touch. He could have set it up so someone else is doing the dirty work for him…"

I was very close to losing it, but Light stepped up and, since Mello had spoken in Japanese (obviously wanting Light to hear what he had to say) Light replied. "Look, when I _was_ having people kill for me it wasn't just criminals posted a while ago, it was _all_ cases. And they were killing _all the time_, not this sporadic once in a while bullshit. This is some asshole riding on Kira's coat-tails." Apparently done with his little speech, my eyes were for Mello who was looking at Light like he was some odd specimen that had just grown an extra head…or a spine.

"Well then…" he said, turning back to the monitor in front of him. "I just don't think we should rule him out as a suspect just yet." I looked at Light, ignoring Mello for the moment, and I knew that if I did act like I suspected him I would probably ruin things with him. Would there really be a draw, this time around, for him to become Kira once more? I couldn't see one, then again, I wasn't Light. There also hadn't been a moment, aside from maybe going to the bathroom once in a while, where he hadn't been within arm's reach. I grabbed his hand and more or less pulled him out of the room.

"Let's go pack." And we did, we packed most of what I'd taken from the old orphanage as well as a bunch of shiny, new toys from Matt. He had insisted on sending Linda, the robot, with us and I had a feeling that was more to get her out of here now that Mello was around. Every time Mello laid eyes on her he looked like he wanted to destroy Matt's masterpiece. He really wanted us to save her AI life. And so, we had to switch her off, and Matt had indeed been naughty when designing her in a very _Chobits_ way. Chobits had been one of the few Manga I had read when I was younger, and I was fairly certain Matt had gotten the idea from that. Well, I wouldn't have been surprised. Matt was _addicted_ to Manga.

The next time Light and I stepped foot in the main office once more it was to say good-bye. "Hey, if you die this time, can I keep those passports?" Near hit Matt for the question and Mello merely laughed. It had, after all, been a joke…for the most part.

"Sure, sure…let's hope it doesn't come to that, ok?" He nodded and I let each of them hug me. I had been doing a lot of thinking about what Mello had told me of Near's feelings. Near wasn't in love with _me_, he barely knew me. In fact…I was usually out of the orphanage most of my days as L that I was actually surprised he could feel that way toward me. But I realized that truly, Near was in love with the _idea_ of me…what L stood for and the position, the power, he held. One who fought for nothing but Justice and had no weakness such as Kryptonite. But every super-hero had their weaknesses, every super-hero was fallible to something, and I was only human despite the pedestal most put me on. The pedestal I never thought I deserved. And so when he, last of the three of them, gave me a hug I whispered, "I'm proud of you, N. You're going to be a far more successful detective than I ever was. But don't forget: it's OK to be human."

And then we left, and Matt actually embraced Light like a brother. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't mind Light so much anymore, or if it was to piss off Mello. They had a love-hate relationship, and they tended to do things that would piss each other off. Always accidentally on purpose, of course. And then Light and I were in the air, and I was flying the jet. I'd taken a few minutes to read the manual, of course, and now I flew like I flew the Helicopter: as if I'd had all the practice in the world. Practice didn't always make perfect, sometimes a photographic memory and common sense were just as good. Half an hour later we landed at an airport in London and I made sure the fuel was replenished and that everything was in perfect working order before taking off once more. This time, my destination was Japan.

* * *

A//N

Welllll thennnn. Idk! I have nothing to say.


	8. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Eight

**Author's Notes**;;

**Freakitten**;; The last chapter was meant to further the story, not necessarily be interesting. And even if you ask your questions, I might not answer if it would spoil anything in the story. But you can try! :D

****Mature Content Warning**  
**

* * *

Chapter Eight:

When we got to the airport in Tokyo I made sure nothing conspicuous was left in the aircraft before we got out. We headed for the exit and took a cab to the building we were going to, and I was glad to see Matt had had the electricity and other commodities turned back on for us. Once inside I switched Linda back into the 'on' position and she started cleaning. Well, the place certainly needed it. Dust covered everything, I supposed ten years of grime being allowed to build up was the culprit, and I headed to the main office. Turning on computer after computer, Light and I eventually had the place running once again. I was glad that, by the time Light and I reached the room we'd once shared, it was already clean. Linda was definitely useful – I'd have to thank Matt at some point.

The handcuffs with the long chain were under the bed and Light picked them up, chuckling. And then he pushed me onto the bed. Before I knew what was happening my left wrist was caught in the cold metal and the chain looped through the bars of the headpiece of the bed, and then my right wrist was caught as well and I could barely move. "Light…what-"

But he cut me off, kissing me and taking off his tie. He slipped the tie around my head, blindfolding me. I could have gotten out of it, the slack in the chain was enough for that, at least, but I didn't. I was interested to find out what he was planning. There were a few moments when absolutely nothing happened, and then I felt his hands taking off my pants. They first slid my jeans off and then my boxers. Then the hands swept upward, unable to take my shirt off completely and so just slipped it over my neck. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but I didn't complain as lips and tongue met my right nipple, lavishing it with attention before switching to my left one. A hand trailed slowly downward, the sensations seemed heightened because of the blindfold, and when it grazed over my now hard member I arched into the touch, a soft moan escaping my lips.

The hand wrapped around my length and began stroking me slowly, and didn't stop until, despite the snail-like pace, I could feel myself close to orgasm. And then it stopped moving, and its warm embrace left me completely and I growled in annoyance. "What…" And then I felt something prodding at my lips and I opened, taking his shaft into my mouth as I understood. One hand twined in my hair and the other found my opening. He must have sucked on his own fingers because I could tell they were wet, and as I sucked and licked his fingers widened me. When he finally pulled out of my mouth I said, "We need…" But the rest of my sentence was a jumbled moan of pleasure and pain as I felt him, slick from my own saliva, enter me, joining us in that most intimate of moments. And it did hurt, again, because it had been over a month since we'd done anything. Then he was moving inside of me, one of his hands wrapping around my aching rod once more and pumping as he built up a rhythm. I couldn't see anything because of the blindfold, but I could smell the scent of sex beginning to overtake the room and I could hear the slap of skin hitting skin each time he thrust into me. I could taste the sweat on my own face when I licked my lips, and I could _feel_. Oh, who needed sight when the other senses were this amazing?

And then the world exploded in color and I wasn't sure I was still blindfolded, but I could still _feel_ it around my eyes, tied behind my head, and a moment later hot liquid accompanied his scream. I didn't know which way was up, I didn't know what was to my right or left, all I knew was pleasure as I slowly came down from my climax and he slipped out of me. I felt the bed move beneath me as it took his weight on my right and then he was fumbling with something. I could hear him moving around, feel the bed jolting a bit, and then the cuffs came off and so did the blindfold. I shut my eyes against the light coming in from the window and turned my body to cuddle, burying my face in his chest and pulling the blanket over my head as I slipped my shirt off completely.

"I love you," I said, planting a gentle kiss on his shoulder because that was what I could reach and I was too comfortable to move.

"I love you, too," he said, kissing the top of my head.

_I woke up in that white room again, Light was with me and we exchanged odd looks. I looked to see we were both clothed, but I didn't remember getting dressed _or_ coming back to this place. Light's voice rang out into the silence and he said, "Evandra? Aaron?" I nodded to the door which, I now could see, was slightly open and I nudged it with my foot. The hallway was dark as it was night outside that one door, save for the small amount of light coming from the door of the white room which we'd left ajar. The door to the dining room was open and a small light came from within, and we headed toward it. Evandra and Aaron were each sitting at the table, each at one of the heads of the rectangular block of wood that had a candle on it, which had been the source of light. Evandra smiled in a welcoming fashion and beckoned us forward. Aaron stood up as we approached and in his hand was a small silver snake._

_The wrist with the bangle Evandra had given me lifted as if on its own and I noticed Light's doing the same, and then there were _two_ snakes and I couldn't remember him taking out a second one. He placed them simultaneously on our wrists and they twined themselves, coiling themselves, around the gold bangles and when their heads me with where their tails were once more their jaws opened and they ate their tails before turning to actual silver, the eyes black stones of onyx. Aaron only said: "For protection." That was the moment I realized I was dreaming._

I woke with a jolt, Light beside me and waking as well. His eyes were as wide as my own must have been and I looked at my wrist. Sure enough there was a silver snake coiled around the gold bangle, tail in mouth and small onyx stones for eyes. Protection? What had he meant, exactly? Perhaps it meant we were getting closer and needed more protection now that we were that much closer to figuring this out? Or maybe we were _physically_ closer? That would surely be a good sign, right? Or maybe something had happened with Armonia that we now needed extra protection against him? The latter thought was disconcerting, and I sat up. "Well…" I looked to my right, towards the person speaking, "I don't think I could go back to sleep now if I wanted to. What do you think that meant?"

I shrugged, "Maybe we're finally on the right track? I mean, you're no longer under suspicion so maybe they weren't helping us while we were on the _wrong_ track?" I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the shower, letting the water run for a few minutes while it got the rust out of its pipes, and then finally when it was clear and warm I stepped in. I felt Light come in after a few minutes and I chided him, "Lazy…making me do all the work."

"That wasn't what you said last night…" I shook my head, laughing softly, and grabbed the bar of soap that Linda had put in the shower. When we were both clean and had brushed our teeth he said, "I'll make coffee…"

"Thanks…" I said, as we headed downstairs. We split, him heading for the kitchen and I heading for the main office, and I nearly jumped when I noticed someone was already in side of it. And it wasn't Linda. I watched for a few moments as the familiar trespasser looked at all the monitors curiously, black shoulder-length hair moving as he shook his head in disbelief. "I'm impressed," I said, which caused him to jump and turn around. "I'm impressed you got in here, Matsuda-san."

His eyes widened and he pulled out his gun, pointing it at my chest and he went slightly pale. "R-Ryu-Ryuuzaki!" I nodded and pulled a lollipop from the dish on the desk to my right and began unwrapping it. "B-But y-you're d-d-dead!" I discarded the wrapper into the trash container under the desk and I only shrugged. He lowered the gun but didn't put it away, and I respected the motion – the precaution.

"Matsuda-san…yes it's really me and _yes_ I really died. There are quite a few forces at work here," I eyes the bracelet on my wrist, "And it might take a while to explain. Please…put your gun and cell-phone over there." I pointed to where I used to have the Team leave their personal items and he nodded, a bit warily as if I might still be a ghost, and put his things there after turning off his cell-phone. "Now, I will explain everything once you tell me something _I_ would like to know…how did you get in here?"

He shook his head as if disbelieving he was actually going to speak to a ghost, but then he did. "The building's security is a bit antiquated, but even still it is rather formidable. But after your death, Ryuuzaki-kun, I made sure to learn it. Even still, learning it isn't enough. The police department, after accepting me back into their ranks, studied it as well and still use it today. Even still that's not enough to allow someone to get past it. I took it upon myself to prove to the police it wasn't infallible. Wedy, if you recall, managed to get past it that day and I was determined to do so myself. About two years ago…I did. I snuck into the police building merely because I could and I wanted to show them their new system wasn't infallible like they believed. They had less security on the doors and in general, all because they had put so much faith in your…security system." A faint blush colored his cheek, but he was doing nothing but impressing me. "And, well, the rest you can figure out on your own."

"Indeed. You have done well, Matsuda-san. No system is infallible, but with a few modifications this building will be closer to impenetrable. If you would, after I have redesigned security, I would like you to test it, Matsuda-san." He looked up at me like this had been the last thing he'd been expecting.

"So…you're staying here, then? But if you're a ghost you wouldn't need these monitors…" The look of confusion on his face was definitely amusing, but I nodded.

"That is correct, Matsuda-san. I am not a ghost." I held up a hand, already knowing his questions. "Yes, I'm aware I don't look a day older than when I died. Yes, I'm away it's _physically_ impossible to rise from the grave and come back to life ten years later. And yes, I'm aware of how much time has passed."

"Are you here to catch Kira again? Is Light-kun back and is he Kira again? That might explain it but-"

"Light is _not_ Kira." My tone shut him up and he actually looked scared for a moment. "My apologies, Matsuda-san, but this new Kira is not Light. In fact," I looked in the direction I knew the kitchen to be, "This new Kira tried to set Light up."

"T-Then…_he's_ back as well?" Matsuda, I could see, was scared by this idea.

"Yes…one could say the fate of the world rests in Light's hands…and my own." And then I began explaining, stopping only when Light came in with coffee. He was obviously surprised to see Matsuda, but this time the officer didn't jump up and try and accuse Light of anything more. My word, apparently, was enough for the officer I'd always thought of as an idiot. Apparently the past ten years had done a lot for Matsuda…he'd truly grown into an officer of the law. I finished explaining, once again, and was already tired of it. "What has become of Mogi-san and Aizawa-san?"

He told us that Mogi was Vice-Chief and Aizawa was Chief. This was good news for them, and hopefully for us as well. It also might mean the two were too busy to help us. "Matsuda-san…as you can imagine, if word of our, ah, _return_ were to get out, it would only be destructive to our cause." He nodded and I added, "I was going to contact you today, ironically. Alas, you have saved me the trouble." I smirked and then got out of the seat I'd situated myself in and returned to my usual seat of preference, keying the computers back to life from Stand By mode.

"I – I'll be right back…" I said, standing up and heading for the closest bathroom. I felt sick, like I was going to throw up, and I wondered if maybe my love of sweets was finally catching up with me. Just when I thought it was safe to get up, that I _wasn't_ about to throw up, I was back over the toilet bowl and my insides were quickly becoming my outsides. And then it was gone, the feeling, the nausea, and I rinsed my mouth with cold water, wiping it over my face. My reflection looked pale, even for me, and I shook the feeling off from having regurgitated. I had been sick only twice in my life. The first was when I had the chicken pox when I was eight. The next had been a stomach virus when I was twelve. This had felt like neither of those times.

I headed back into the main room and avoided the sweets and asked Light if we had any chips or crackers. Maybe I should just avoid the things that thinking about made me want to throw up. Thinking of sweets made me feel nauseous again, so perhaps something a bit saltier would do the trick. He looked at me oddly but got up; getting some Lays potato chips from the kitchen and handing them to me without any questions. I didn't have answers, so that was probably a good thing he hadn't wanted any.

* * *

A//N

Alrighty, if any of you have a problem with Mpreg…now's the time to stop reading. Just thought I'd warn you, although I hate to spoil anything for you guys.


	9. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Nine

**Author's Notes**;;

Yes, I write a lot and update frequently...because I'm just that bored and chapters don't really take very long to write...

**Shannara810**;; bahaha, it would appear so. And yes, I fear for its sanity as well. And I want a Linda for xmas, as well lol.  
**Freakitten**;; L doesn't even know yet. Oh, gosh…it _does_ complicate things, though.  
**Crescendoll**;; YAY I like when people comment on the little things! And yeah, I loved Matsuda as a character! :D And out of all the endings I liked the movie one best because it leaves to most room for creativity without diminishing L for me. Also, the thing that never changed in any of them was that both characters died, and I couldn't change that. I could play a bit, but I didn't change that too drastically.

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Nine:

The next week flew by as we attempted to narrow our search for this new "Kira." My own bathroom troubles had only increased, and I was _gaining weight_. I was L…I _did not_ gain weight! It simply wasn't in my character description. The others had noticed my more frequent trips to the bathroom and I could tell Light was concerned, but I pretended to be deaf if any of them mentioned it. Also, my eating habits had changed to the more dry and salty things as they were less irritable to my apparently more sensitive stomach. Had the things I was eating have to do with the weight gain? My system had grown used to the sweets, perhaps this was one reason? I was also drinking more water and less coffee. I still needed at least three cups every morning, and I was sleeping more. _What the Hell is wrong with me?_ I'd often ask myself.

And that was why I was on Google and typing 'vomiting + weight gain' into the search engine. WikiAnswers was the first link that popped up and I clicked it. There was reference to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which I considered for less than two seconds before dismissing it, and then in big capitol letters 'PREGNANCY.' I fell out of my seat and my ass hit the carpeted floor and I knelt, minimizing the window with the browser in it as Light was suddenly next to me. "Are you alright?" I nodded and pushed him away, wanting to read more of that 'answer.' "I…L, are you sure?" I just glared at him and he left me alone. I re-opened the browser and read on, thankful there was another reason for my apparent condition. But no, the other reason had to do with eating lots of carbohydrates and no vegetables. True, my diet had never been healthy, but there was no reason for this to happen all of a sudden when my body should have been _quite_ used to how things were.

I hit the F10 button and then the X button and the browser closed completely and I froze as I heard a familiar laugh from behind me. I turned and stood to greet our newest visitor, and it appeared Matsuda could actually see him. "Hello, Ryuk." Then I remembered, Matsuda had touched the Death Notes as well. "Where have you been?" I looked at his side and was actually relieved to see both Death Notes there.

"Bah, can't even let me have any fun?" He was looking at me strangely, first at my head and then at my stomach, then back to my head. He turned to Light, giving him the strange look as well. "Oy…it looked like The Oracles were right. That dust I gave them really did the trick." I blinked, confused, and looked over at Light who looked equally confused.

"What are you talking about, Ryuk?" It was Light who had voiced that question, but Ryuk only laughed.

"The Oracles…had me go fetch some of that dust and rust from the, er, _remains_ of the Death King. I did and they told me they'd make you some sort of charm…that would hide your names from any with Shinigami Eyes. It would also allow the two of you to see Shinigami, even without touching their Death Notes. It worked. I can't see your names." He looked at me once more and said, "And there's a third I can't see…but that may be because it doesn't have a name yet."

Light looked at me and said, "What is he talking about?"

I shrugged, "No idea." Ryuk broke into his usual laughter and I looked at the bracelet on my wrist and then at Light's, "These snakes…are they what The Oracles made?" I showed Ryuk the bracelet and he just nodded, as if highly amused by something. "Back to work, people." And I sat down again, facing away from Ryuk, and went back to trying to figure out what my next step would be.

"By the way…" I heard from behind me. It was Ryuk, surprise surprise, and he was annoyingly close to me. "I saw what you were reading. Very…interesting." Light's gaze flicked toward me and I re-opened my browser and first cleared the history, and then went in and cleared all temporary files and anything else that might give it away to someone with as much computer knowledge as Light had.

There had been other reasons, the article had said, that may have caused this. A problem with my Thyroid, maybe, or a depletion of the mucus lining in my stomach; but the thing was most digestive disorders, or other disorders that caused vomiting, usually resulted in weight loss. I had pretty much pretended Ryuk had said nothing suspicious and was going to go see a doctor when he whispered in my ear: "It has a life-span."

Those words _did_ hit home and I turned to look at Ryuk. "Shut up, Ryuk…" I said, trying to ignore him again. _This is impossible_, I thought, completely confused and, yes, freaking out. Even if it were true, how was I supposed to carry it? I, technically, had the wrong parts for pregnancy. It was a physical impossibility. And yet…I could _feel_ my body changing and I _was_ exhibiting the correct symptoms for pregnancy. It was physically impossible for people to come back to life, and yet here Light and I were. What was one more impossibility proven otherwise?

It wasn't until the next day that we got an actual lead. The new Kira was in Tokyo, right under our noses, so to speak. We only knew this because he must have slipped up and killed a first-time offender while outdoors. A man had been harassing a woman and trying to rape her, when she refused he pulled a gun on her. Someone in the street had tried to help the girl and the man had shot them. And then the man _died_, he clutched his chest and fell to the pavement before he collapsed and lay still when his heart stopped working.

Matsuda was one of those called to the scene, having been one of the initial members of the Kira Investigation Team, and he took pictures for us as well as orders. I'd given him an ear-piece in which I instructed him to bring Mogi back to Headquarters with him. He was also instructed to fill Mogi in on the way, and to make sure the two of them were alone. And I was left alone with Light, and with my thoughts. We were more or less having sex every night, which didn't bother me in the slightest and as far as I knew it wouldn't hurt the baby, not yet anyway, and I realized I was beginning to think of it as a baby. When I tried to figure out when I'd gotten pregnant, the only thing I could think of was he and I had been in The Place Between. Perhaps that place had enough metaphysics about it to induce this. But whatever the reason, I needed to get a sonogram at some point.

Most women waited until twenty weeks and I checked the date. He and I had come back to the Human World on the third of June, when I'd first started throwing up it had been the middle of July. The thought that Ryuk had seen what I'd been reading and decided to play a joke on me had occurred, but then I'd thought more about it and too many things were coincidental. I didn't believe in coincidences, and I didn't think Ryuk _knew_ how to make jokes like that. I was almost seven weeks along, exactly, and I decided to broach the subject with Light. I told Matsuda to call Light's phone when he and Mogi got to Headquarters, and then I switched off the device that linked me to him.

"Light…" I said a bit hesitantly. We were in our room, for a change, and I'd been laying down on the bed just staring at the ceiling. "Have you, I mean…did you ever consider…" I stopped, trying to pick the best words. "Being with me…there are plenty of things you're giving up…" I sat up so I could look at him better and he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at me curiously. "I mean…being a father, for example…have you ever wanted"

"Shh," his arms were around me and I curled into the embrace. "What's this? L, what are you saying? Truthfully, I never could picture myself as a father..and just because I'm with you doesn't mean that couldn't ever happen." I froze and looked at him oddly, wondering what he was talking about. "After all, there is always adoption. Taking in a kid who has no family would be helping them out as well, eh? Besides," he kissed me briefly, "For someone who grew up in an orphanage, you didn't turn out all that bad." I smiled and kissed his cheek, "No…being with you just means going about things in a different way. True, the child wouldn't be of my blood, but that's not as important as being there for him or her. If I fathered a child and wasn't there for them, then they aren't really my child."

He shifted us so he was looking in my eyes, "L…do you ever think of your real parents? Ever wonder who they are?" I shook my head, no, because I didn't. It was part of the past and didn't matter. Watari, and the Orphanage, had been my father and home respectively. But I knew other kids who _did_ wonder about their parents, and were often driven close to insanity by it. I couldn't change the past, and I didn't really want to know who my real parents were, because they didn't matter. "Exactly. So adoption really wouldn't be all that bad. Where is all this talk coming from, anyway?"

I took his hand and brought it to my stomach and only asked, "So…you don't not want kids?"

He blinked, dissecting my question, "No…I don't not want kids, L. Do _you_ want kids?"

I took a deep breath and answered him slowly. "I don't think we have much choice in the matter…I'm pregnant." He just stared at me for a moment, taking in the information, and I chewed thoughtfully on my lower lip. He didn't move, didn't blink, and I was wondering if he was even breathing at this point. "Please, say something…anything…"

He let out a rush of air and stood up, pacing the room. "Well…_that_ explains a lot…wait, who am I kidding? It explains _nothing_! How? How do you know? I mean, it's…it's…"

"Impossible," I finished for him and he nodded, sitting next to me once again. "I know…I would have seen a doctor to confirm, but…Ryuk…he told me he could see a third life whose name he couldn't read. Thankfully, those under a certain amount of days old are safe from the Death Note, but I don't think this baby ought to have a name until after this whole mess is done. Normally that wouldn't have been enough evidence, either, but…he told me it has a lifespan."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders again and looked me in the eyes. "So…what you're saying is…we're going to have a baby?" I nodded and he blinked once, twice, and then he fainted.

I rolled my eyes and slapped him, and when he didn't wake up I reached under the bed for the first aid kit and pulled out smelling salts. I stuck them under his nose and he sat up, eyes watering and coughing, and then the smell sent me back into the bathroom. When I came back the salts were nowhere to be found and neither was the first aid kit, and he was laying on the bed in my prior position of staring at the ceiling. "Light…" I said, sitting next to him and bringing my knees to my chin. He looked over at me and I asked, "Are…you angry?"

He sat up in a rush and pulled me into a hug. "No…no, of course not…don't be silly!" He kissed my cheek and then my lips, his hand slipping under my shirt and coming to rest on my stomach. "This…was just a bit of a surprise, that's all. But..." he caught my expression and kissed me again, "Definitely not a bad surprise." He pulled me to my feet, "Let's go downstairs…get some more work done. I want to celebrate tonight." I nodded and let him lead the way, "Besides…the others should be here soon enough."

But nearly half an hour more passed and still we were alone. I grinned and pushed him back against his seat, crawling on top of him and reaching down to grope his groin as I licked his neck. It didn't take overly long before he was groping me in return and we were both hard. I had to stand up to take off my pants and then I undid the fly and button on his before pulling them off. "L…should we? I mean…" he nuzzled his face against my stomach and I just rolled my eyes and slid his boxers down, both those and his pants pooled around his ankles, and I took him into my mouth. Once he was coated in my saliva enough for what I had planned to be comfortable, I put one leg on either side of his hips and lowered myself onto him, and my head fell back and I moaned. His hands found the small of my back as if worried I would fall backwards off the chair, and I leaned forward, bringing our lips together as I began riding him.

He brought one hand around to stroke me and he said, "I…can't last much longer." His cell phone rang just as the door opened. "Shit," and he turned his head to look, but my orgasm hit me and I bit his neck hard enough to draw blood to keep from screaming, and my climax triggered his. "Oh Fu-nnrrggg," he managed and I slumped in his arms trying to relearn how to breathe and I heard the door close. I looked over and didn't see anyone standing there, which was probably for the best, and he laughed. "I'm pretty sure we scarred them for life."

I chuckled and snuggled into his embrace. "Celebration over…I want to go to sleep." He laughed again and I smiled, liking the sound.

"Let's get dressed first…ok?" I only nodded and let him put my clothing back on me, not bothering to help because I just didn't feel like getting dressed. "Alright…come on…" And he picked me up, I could already feel myself drifting into sleep, and the next thing I knew I woke up alone in our bed and a steaming cup of coffee was on the table next to me.

* * *

A//N

Yes, we know they are addicted to sex…and L definitely has a thing for exhibitionism. Is it really surprising?


	10. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Ten

**Author's Notes**;;  
**Freakitten**;; I'm glad it made you laugh. :D  
**Shannara810**;; Ha, yeah, he _fainted_. O.O I'm still worried for the kid's sanity…  
**Constable Anemone of the Sea**(x3);; Ahem, yes, that _would_ explain Mello's love for chocolate. ^-^ Yay, I'm glad you think I'm writing it well! And to be perfectly honest, Light is internally _freaking out_. But what's done is done and, inevitably, I've decided he'd pro-life. L would never be for abortion unless it was _absolutely necessary_. In my opinion, anyway. Well, as you said, expect Light to try and exploit this dormant part of L. ;) I think Light noticed, finally.  
**Crescendoll**;; Ha, Matsuda and Mogi… O.O And as for them being addicted, yes, it's perfectly fine. And yeah, I had to pick one, Raito or Light, and eventually decided on Light because, well, I like both names. -shrugs- And yeah, I get…bored? And I don't really edit afterwards, I edit as I go.

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Ten:

I ignored the coffee for a whole of three minutes before I gave in and drank it, and then I showered. I didn't like showering without Light, and the shower was a lot shorter without him with me. When I finally went downstairs I headed directly for the kitchen, opening the fridge and trying to find _something_ to eat. I reached for the chocolate cake and then recoiled, as if stung, and grabbed a box of leftover pizza instead and vaguely wondered who had ordered it. I opened it up and saw it was plain and grabbed a slice, not bothering to heat it up. It didn't smell as much when it was cold.

I grabbed a bottle of water as well and headed for the main office and then I remembered the door opening the night before while Light and I…while we had…and it had been pretty exciting. My thought process shifted to the investigation as I entered the room, barely glancing at Matsuda, Mogi or Light as I did, and I acted as if nothing were wrong. What had I been thinking? I'd known they would be arriving soon and I'd still engaged in intercourse with Light. It had been rather…thrilling. I shot a look in my lover's direction and took the seat on his left, as usual, and he eyed the pizza in disbelief. "It's _healthier_," I said simply and took another bite.

Matsuda laughed and I turned my glare toward him. "Sorry, it's just…since when have _you_ cared about food being healthy?" I shrugged and thought _since now_. But he went on, "I mean…really, you're acting as if…" and he froze, closed his mouth and shook his head. "Nevermind."

I smiled and prodded, "As if _what_, Matsuda-san?" This I wanted to hear.

He cleared his throat and coughed, as if uncomfortable. "Well…my sister-in-law is pregnant with her first child, you're exhibiting symptoms similar to her." I stared blankly at him, inwardly horrified he'd figured it out. Then he laughed again, "But since that's impossible…it's just another thing for me to make fun of you about. But really, you should probably see a doctor."

"Thank you for your concern, Matsuda-san." And I turned back to my work station, trying to figure out where the new Kira was exactly…or who. Finally I noticed a pattern. "Light…please come here." He did and I pointed at one of the screens. "There…that chart. I think this new Kira might be a student…like you were. But there are irregularities in his time, almost as if…he were working. This is why I was having so much trouble initially. But look…" I pointed again, "The hours _are_ irregular…The culprit either works two jobs…or is a student with an internship or part-time position." I frowned and added, "And I don't think he's acting on his own. Whoever this is…I think the _real_ culprit is the Shinigami behind him."

I stood so he could take my seat and look at everything properly, and I headed once more for the kitchen. I opened the door and I stopped, hearing Matsuda talking to Light, "Sayu-chan was released from the hospital a few days ago."

"Sh-she was?" I could hear the hope in his voice and I wondered if I should be eavesdropping. No, I would listen and if I could do anything to help the situation I would.

"Yeah…it's weird; she…doesn't think you're dead. It's like…after all this time she thinks you're alive somewhere. Sachiko-san's pretty freaked out by her behavior, but other than that she's pulled a complete one-eighty." He paused and I heard him shift in his seat, "She looks great…really healthy. I mean…aside from claiming to see you surrounded by bright lights in a dream and being convinced you're alive."

I came back into the room and said, "Light…I think we should visit her." Three pairs of eyes landed on me, but I wasn't uncomfortable with it. Light stood up and I added, "I really think it would do her well…and we would be able to caution her to keep her mouth shut. The lights…do you remember leaving The Place Between?" His eyes widened and he nodded, "Then I think it would be in everyone's best interest to pay your sister, and perhaps your mother, a visit."

And so an hour later Mogi drove us to Light's old residence, he had a brown hooded sweatshirt on with his head covered, and we approached the door. I knocked briskly and when the door opened his mother looked at us, confused, and then she burst into tears and flung her arms around Light. If it had just been one of us at the door, she might not have known for sure Light was really her son. But she remembered me and it was too much a coincidence for he and I to be together at her doorstep and not actually be us. "Excuse me, Mrs. Yagami…but may we come in?"

"O-Of course, I…I'm sorry I just…" she moved aside and shut the door behind us. And then she slapped Light. "How could you let me think you were dead? My own son! Honestly! Do you _know_ the Hell I went through?" I winced watching her and was very glad I wasn't Light in that moment as she hit him again and then pulled him into a hug. A mother's love was strange, I noted, and put a hand to my own stomach. "Now, young man, you have a lot of explaining to do! Sayu-chan was right, oh how she'll gloat over this. Or, at least I assume and hope she is right and you are neither ghost nor figment of my imagination."

"No, Mom…Sayu-chan is both correct and incorrect." She looked at her son oddly as we all filed into the kitchen and she started putting food out on the table. "I was dead…for ten years. But…" he looked at me. Usually I was the one doing the explanations and, for once, it felt nice not to need to. "We, ah…sort of got brought back to life by a higher power to save the world?"

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say this is no time for jokes, Light Yagami! But…I don't think you _would_ joke about such matters, least of all to me. And I didn't notice it before, but you…time really hasn't _touched_ you." And then she turned to me, "And you…I remember you. Ryuuzaki. Soichiro didn't like you, but…I remember when Light's body was found, yours…was found with his." I froze; I hadn't actually been expecting her to turn her attention to me for a while yet. But I nodded and she went on, "I remember when you came over…" Her lips thinned as she frowned, "He was so mad…when you two went upstairs. You two really could have been quieter and upset him less, besides, with Sayu-chan in the house…really." Her gaze shifted to Light, "But Soichiro didn't see it…and now the two of you are back."

Light shot me a look I couldn't quite read and he cleared his throat, "Uhm…Mom? Where _is_ Sayu-chan?" She gestured upstairs and bid us go say hello, she had to set the table for dinner anyway, and so we went up the stairs and he knocked lightly on Sayu's door. She called for us to come in and he turned the knob, the unlocked door sliding inward and then her eyes widened and Light was being hugged once more. "Sayu-chan…" he said, and his arms wrapped carefully around her as if he was afraid she would break. She was extremely thin and I didn't exactly blame Light for the thought.

"Light-kun…you're alright! I knew it! I knew you were alive!" He nodded and hugged her again and I saw tears in his eyes. "I saw you…in the lights…over a month ago! They finally let me go. That place was _awful_." Light chuckled and pulled away and the three of us sat on her bed. "I saw you! You were surrounded by that light, too. R-Ruuzaki, right?" I nodded and she smiled again, apparently glad she'd remembered correctly. "Right…Light-kun's friend that came for dinner that night." Her eyes widened and she said, "I always wondered what you two were doing…that night." She turned back to Light like some child with A.D.D. and said, "Don't you remember when I was younger I could…predict things? Like…that time I was watching television with you and mom and we were on the floor eating cereal…I was eight. And I _knew_ I'd seen that exact program before but Mom said it wasn't a repeat! I had seen it in a dream…and that time when I woke up and asked about that place that had caught on fire and I asked if everyone was alright? The morning paper came and-"

"And announced the fire and that none had died but thirty-eight had been injured…yes," Light said in a calm voice, "I remember." She smiled a bit smugly and he said, "And you were right about me being alive, too. You're a regular psychic."

"I know! And it works backwards, too! If I concentrate enough, but it takes lots of energy, and touching things helps…but I can see events that took place in the past." She looked at me once again and I connected it a moment before she said it, "Now, if I wanted to, I could figure out what caused all that commotion." From the look in her eyes she'd already figured it out and merely wanted to make her big brother sweat. And he did. Light fidgeted and tried to convince her not to, tried to persuade her it was in the past. "What…are you afraid I'll see something I don't already know? After all, I know you were Kira…and he was found with you so it's natural to assume he was helping." Again, he protested that I was innocent and I was doing all I could not to laugh. And then she did, she burst into laughter and I joined her, clutching my side and falling sideways onto the bed.

I felt someone's, Light's, hand hit my side. "What are _you_ laughing at, anyway?" Light obviously didn't like being the butt of a joke and I finally sat up, wiping tears out of my eyes.

"Nothing…nothing. You're just…overly worried about nothing and it was…endearing." He shifted uncomfortably and I moved behind him, resting my chin on his shoulder. "Trying to protect your sister from the truth and trying to protect me at the same time when it was obvious she'd figured it out ages ago. In fact," I gave Sayu a calculating look, "She must have figured it out that day and, like any other teenager, curiosity had caused her to want to peek."

He scowled, "Curiosity killed the cat, you know…" but the comment was directed more at me.

"And the answer brought it back to life," I retorted dully, sticking out my tongue at the irony. He licked my tongue and I pushed him away, scrunching my nose in distaste and Sayu just laughed at us. Apparently we were amusing. I didn't see it, I really, really didn't.

The three of us conversed for another half hour before we were called down to dinner and we dutifully headed down, taking seats and Light was, once again, seated next to me. There was no one at either end of the rectangular table, Sayu and her mother were across from us, and she dished out the salad first. I opted not to use dressing and took a few curious bites. Apparently my new appetite wasn't strange enough to adapt to salad yet, and then she served pork dumplings which I devoured. And then fish. The smell rankled me and I got up, running for where I knew the nearest bathroom was and spewing out everything I'd just eaten. I heard her freaking out that her cooking must be bad and how horrible she felt and how we shouldn't eat anything more and Light trying to smooth things over. 'No…that happens all the time, trust me…your cooking is fine, Mom.' And then she was concerned about _my_ health and _why_ was 'that nice boy' throwing up all the time, anyway? She wanted to know if I'd seen a doctor yet and, if not, should she have it arranged? I wondered if I would worry so much about my child and anyone they brought home with them and knew I probably would, and then round two of dinner came back up and I was done. I flushed the toilet and rinsed my mouth and washed my face. It had really become routine by that point and I grabbed a hand towel and dried off. And when I came back out she was fussing once again and asking if I was alright.

"Really, it's as Light said…happens all the time." I offered a weak smile and said, "Do you have any crackers?" I took my seat once more and noticed Light had moved the fish platter to the opposite corner of the table and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze in appreciation. She got me some saltines and I ate them slowly, nibbling on them and apologizing to Mrs. Yagami. She offered, again, to set me an appointment with her doctor and I finally said, "Unless it's with a Sonographer and Radiologist, it's really not necessary."

Her eyes widened and she said, "Sonogram…but, usually men don't go in for those unless it's related to…" and then she stopped. "You're far too young for that…oh, how terrible." And then I realized and laughed, shaking my head. She thought I had cancer.

"No…Yagami-san…it's nothing like that, I promise…" She blinked at me, confused, and I felt Light's hand slide down to my thigh. "I'm, well…it's not that. I promise it's not prostate cancer…" I pushed my seat closer to the table as Light's hand slid dangerously close to my groin and I glared at him. He only smiled in return and his hand forced my legs a bit further apart. Mrs. Yagami looked like she wanted to say something else and I said, "Really…it's nothing to worry about. Please…I-I'm fine." And he was groping me at the dinner table and I had to admit it was exciting. I felt myself stiffen as he massaged my shaft to life and I blinked when I realized his mother had asked me another question. "Uhhh…sorry, I must have…zoned out. Can you repeat that?"

"Certainly…I asked if you two have to leave tonight or if you would like to stay? The guestroom is practically ready," she looked apologetically at Light, "And we could easily accommodate the two of you…but one of you might have to sleep on the couch?"

Light answered, because I wasn't sure I could, "I'll take the couch, eh, Ryuuzaki?" I nodded and bit my lower lip, he had managed to get my zipper undone and his hand inside and he was stroking me through the thin fabric of my boxers. "Guests should have the beds…"

I wanted to interrupt and say we could share, it really was fine, but I dimly recalled her annoyance about us 'misbehaving' the last time with Sayu in the house. I dug my nails into Light's arm and I couldn't deny this display in front of his mother and sister, the fact that they could catch us any time if they just looked under the table or stood up, was absolutely horrifying and…definitely made it more exciting.

* * *

A//N

Yes, I think dear L has a flare for exhibitionism. And Light's finally noticed it. Poor L… -evil smirk-


	11. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Eleven

**Author's Notes**;;  
**Crescendoll**;; Light really just likes that he can make L react…. Ahem…  
**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; Ha, yes, EXACTLY! Light _loves_ that he can make L squirm like that…make him lose his cool. And as for Sachiko, yes, Sayu was definitely a BIG help. Also…I had too much fun writing that scene…it really hasn't hit her yet…that Light is alive and it's not a dream. And she hit him…lmao. Something I don't think she ever would have done while he was 'alive.' Sayu…is definitely amusing, you'll see why in this chapter. BTW, mood swing warning. LMFAO.

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Eleven:

I was definitely beginning to sweat, and I could tell Light was enjoying this…making me sweat, making my hands clench and my teeth to gnaw at my bottom lip so as to suppress any sounds and _it_ _was so damn hard_. The trouble was…if I said something, they would know. If I told him to stop or made sudden movements, his mother and sister would know. And if I screamed, they would definitely know. I wasn't exactly complaining, considering the course of events. But if he didn't stop soon I was pretty sure everyone would find out anyway…and it would probably be messy.

And then he stopped and I sort of slumped in my chair, breathing a bit more irregular than usual, and I was glad my t-shirt was too big for me and hid that I was still very, very aroused. I gave Light a look that clearly said he would pay for that and I moved my own hand between his legs to find he was already hard. He _had_ enjoyed making me squirm, then. I smirked and rubbed him through his pants which were a lighter material than my own, and he shifted to allow me better access, but other than that small movement there was no change in his demeanor or facial expression. How could he sit there so calmly?

I unzipped his pants, turning my focus back to the table, and I noticed Mrs. Yagami was giving me another of her looks that told me she was worried for my health. And I found the hole in his boxers and he twitched, the only sign that I was getting to him, but then the mask slid into place once more. This. Was. Boring. He didn't so much as blink. _I could never do that…I envy him_. But I knew it must be tormenting him in that _feels so good_ way, so I ran my thumb over the head, flicking my finger-nail over that sensitive hole on top and I felt the pre-cum leaking and he coughed. Finally, a reaction, and I noticed sweat shimmering over his right temple and I smiled again. And then I realized I wasn't paying attention to the table anymore. How could he _do_ this? How did he manage to make me want to scream and pretend he was paying attention to everyone at the same time? "Ryuuzaki-kun?" His mother's voice distracted me and my hand stopped, and I blinked at Mrs. Yagami. "Are you feeling better yet?"

I felt him move my hand and I nodded, "Yes…thank you." I fell back dejectedly in my seat, still mostly hard and wanting his attention again, "I think I'm just tired." I smiled a bit and shrugged.

"Oh, Sayu-chan…go get the guestroom ready, please." Sayu grumbled a bit but got up and headed into the next room and I thanked Mrs. Yagami. "Oh, not a problem. Really. If you're tired I really must insist you stay the night, I'm sure I still have enough of Light's clothing for the both of you for tomorrow somewhere in the attic." She brought out dessert, small chocolate truffles and I ate three of them without my stomach complaining, and then Sayu came back in announcing that the guestroom was ready.

"But really, don't tell me I have to get the couch ready for Light…I'm not stupid, Mom. Light's just going to wind up sneaking into the Guestroom anyway." Light coughed to cover his laugh, Mrs. Yagami gaped at her and I just grinned, knowing it was probably true, anyway. "It'll just wind up being a waste of time. If Light really wants to sleep on the couch, or Ryuuzaki really doesn't want Light in the same bed with him, Light can make up the couch." And she sat down, grabbed two truffles, and ate them simultaneously.

Mrs. Yagami was glaring daggers at all three of us and Light just shrugged, "Well…I guess I don't have to lie about it now." He looked at Sayu and said, "As awkward as you just made things…thanks," he said a bit sarcastically.

"No problem…besides, what are little sisters for if not to make things awkward, older brother?" I shook my head, watching their sarcastic exchange and eventually tuned them out. Mrs. Yagami got over her shock and, when it was almost nine-thirty, declared it bedtime since Sayu had classes in the morning. Apparently, she was finishing her High School education in hopes of going to University. Better late than never, and I could tell her mother and brother were both proud of her.

I stood up after Sayu had left the room and Light took my hand, Sayu having blown our cover ages ago, and he said, "The Guestroom is this way." We ignored his mother's mutterings about misbehaving and, once inside with the door closed, I pushed him onto the bed. I climbed on top of him and said, "What were you thinking? We could have gotten caught!"

He smiled at me and said, "You didn't have to return the favor…besides, I know you liked it. Don't think I haven't noticed your flare for exhibitionism, L. The way, last time we were here, you _liked_ knowing that my parents and sister were in the house and we could get caught. And when Matsuda-san was on his way with Mogi-san…when they walked in…it got you off, them walking in, didn't it?" I nodded and he flipped me onto my back. "You _like_ the danger the possibility of getting caught holds…and believe me; I'm planning on remembering that." I shivered, but not because I was scared, but from anticipation. "I think Matsuda-san enjoyed walking in on us…"

I pulled away a moment, looking him in the eyes to see if he was serious. "Really? Why?"

"I don't know…but when I went down and apologized to them, Matsuda had just come back from the bathroom…I'm good at reading people. Trust me, he liked what he saw." He smiled a bit and began taking off my pants. "I think that, if the circumstances were right, he wouldn't be averse to watching again…although I have a feeling he might want to see more than just the finale." And then my pants were on the floor somewhere and his hand slid under my boxers as his other worked at his own pants and they joined mine on the floor. "I'm not sure if he would want to join in or not…"

"Absolutely not! I'm not sharing." I pouted and he laughed, kissing my lips and then my cheek. "Besides, I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you."

"Alright…but you don't oppose to him watching?" I blushed and shook my head, 'no.' "Well then, we'll just have to set it up so he walks in on us again…" And then our shirts were off and we were a tangle of flesh writhing beneath the sheets. I tried to respect Mrs. Yagami's wishes, but I couldn't help letting out a moan as Light brought me over that edge, his name escaping my fevered and breathless lips and he finished quickly after that. We both fell asleep, but I woke up as the door opened and noticed his mother checking in on us. I supposed a mother never stopped being protective of her children, and I saw tears in her eyes as I kept one eye closed and the other barely open. I didn't think it was because of what we'd obviously done, but more because she was relieved he was home. It was a few minutes before the door closed and I opened my eyes completely, thinking about everything that had happened. She had fussed over me like I was one of her own, and I was sure she remembered that kiss Light and I had shared before he'd given me that apple charm…apparently neither she or Sayu had the same feelings about gay couples that Soichiro had. It was a shame Soichiro had never approved, it would have meant a lot to Light…but Soichiro was dead and could no longer do things like give his approval.

Eventually I slept once more; annoyed with my body for needing more sleep, and when I woke up again I was alone in the Guestroom. The smell of eggs and coffee drove me to shower in the adjoining bathroom and get dressed in the clothing Light had put out for me, and then I stumbled, half-awake, into the kitchen to see all three of them looking at me like I had just walked into some old family television show. Light laughed and stood up, touching the sweater I was wearing. "It's inside-out…" I finally looked down at my ensemble. I was wearing a cobalt-blue sweater that hugged my torso and black dress-pants. Did he own nothing else? It wasn't uncomfortable, but I preferred my jeans and T-shirt. As if he noticed my expression, "I couldn't find any of my jeans…I think she must have thrown out my cheaper clothing," he glared at his mom who only shrugged.

She was collected once more, calm, and she said, "Ryuuzaki, why don't you join us for breakfast?"

I nodded and pushed away from Light, sulking a bit, and took my seat next to his and grabbed some eggs. He sat back down and gave me a strange look but I avoided eye contact. I was mad at him, I realized. This was the second time I had woken up alone in as many days and I didn't like it one bit. "Thank you for everything, Yagami-san."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. To be honest I don't want you boys to leave…" I smiled sadly and she added, "I know you have to…but come and visit once in a while, alright?"

"Of course." I felt Light's hand on my knees and I shifted, pushing his hand off of me and moving my chair a bit away from him.

"What's got you in a mood?" he asked, and I looked at him. "Ah, finally eye contact… Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…"

I looked away once more and said, "Yes…it was empty." He moved his seat closer to mine and speared some of my eggs on his fork. He dipped it in ketchup and put it in front of my mouth, apparently trying to make amends by feeding me. I took in a breath and then opened my mouth, accepting it, and he smiled. I grabbed the fork from him, "I can feed myself."

But less than two minutes later I was heading for the bathroom again and throwing up. His mother was suggesting doctors to Light, and he was accepting them even though I had no intention of seeing any of them, and I heard a gentle knock on the door before it opened and Light came in. "I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning when you woke up, OK?" I nodded and pulled away, attempting to stand and then threw up again. He held my hair away from my eyes and mouth and, finally, I was finished. He helped me stand and I rinsed my mouth then turned, my face resting on his chest and his arms went around me again. "It's ok..."

"Ryuuzaki-kun," his mother's voice this time from outside the bathroom. I flushed the toilet and then reached for the door handle, and I had to pull away from Light a little so I could and then let him hold me again. She looked at both of us and said, "Really…I think you need to see a doctor."

"I know…and I will, eventually. It's too soon right now." I took a step away from Light and felt nauseous once more and retraced that step, leaning against him slightly. He linked his hand with mine and we walked back to the table, fight apparently over, and I picked at my eggs while feeling miserable for making his mother worry about me. "Yagami-san…" I said carefully, "Please don't worry about me so much." The look she gave me could make a flower wither and die and I smiled, "I know what's wrong with me, only I don't see it as a problem…more of an inconvenience." _It's only for now_, I thought, knowing that in another few weeks the morning sickness should be gone. Morning sickness, what a stupid thing to call it, it struck whenever it damn well wanted to morning, noon or night.

"It's actually somewhat my fault, Mom…" I looked at Light and so did his mother. Sayu's attention was still fixed on her eggs as if she were bored or somewhere else, and maybe she was, literally or figuratively. But after a moment she, too, looked at Light and then her brown eyes fixed themselves on me.

I watched it happen, her pupils dilated to the point where there was barely any iris left and she said, "I'm going to be an Aunt!" She blinked and when she opened her eyes again they looked normal. "Sorry, I had to peek, the suspense was killing me." But she was smiling, "I could figure out the gender if you want!"

Light said, "Sure" and I said, "No!" And everyone looked at me again. Mrs. Yagami looked like she wasn't sure if she should believe this or not, and Light looked confused. I attempted to explain. "Sayu-chan, while the offer is appreciated I would much rather be surprised." I looked at Light, "Besides, we've decided not to name the baby until after he or she is born…and knowing the gender often leads to wanting to name the baby."

And then Mrs. Yagami was on her feet and hugging us both. "A Grandmother! Honestly, for a while I wasn't sure I'd ever live to see that day!" It was strange, being hugged by Light's mother; she was pretty much a stranger to me. It wasn't bad, it was just different, and when the time came to leave I found I didn't actually want to. A mother's love was something I had never been privy to, and something I'd seen go wrong so many times when I had been at the orphanage. But Mrs. Yagami was a good mother, and she knew that Light and I were in a serious relationship…and she had treated me like one of her own. The fact that she could was something I wasn't sure I'd ever understand. Well, I reasoned as I put a hand over my stomach again, maybe _someday_ I would. I only hoped I was half as good a parent as she was.

And then we called Mogi and he came and picked us up. She hugged us good-bye and Light asked them to be quiet about us being alive. They agreed and, by the time we were back at Headquarters, I was hungry again. "Light…" I said as we walked into the building, "Kitchen…I'm starved." He only rolled his eyes and, taking me by the hand, led me towards the kitchen.

* * *

A//N

Alright, so they were thoroughly unproductive in their quest this chapter…or were they? -smirks-

And now I'm gonna go to sleep! You guys got a lot of chapters from me today. O.O


	12. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Twelve

**Author's Notes**;;  
**Freakitten**;; Wooot! I'm glad you love it.  
**Shannara810**;; AWWW! I don't think every chapter will make you cry?  
**Crescendoll**;; Ha, yeah, Sayu is…entertaining. XD As for Sachiko, she _is_ trying…if having Light back comes with these conditions she'll take them.  
**Constable Anemone of the Sea**;; Funny you should mention the whole 'boyfriend' thing, I was planning on addressing that this chapter. (which never wound up happening)

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Twelve:

There was nothing in the fridge. Well, nothing I wanted to eat, anyway. "Well maybe if you hadn't picked at your breakfast we wouldn't be faced with this problem?" I scowled at Light and slammed the door shut, opening cabinet after cabinet in search of…what? I wasn't even sure what I was looking for! "What do you want?"

"I don't know!" He opened the freezer and took out some strawberry ice cream that I hadn't seen before and I said, "That!" He only laughed and put some in a bowl for me. "Where was it?" I grabbed a spoon and started eating it slowly so I didn't get a brain freeze…I also didn't want to eat it too quickly and throw up again later.

"In the freezer," he said, and put it back. I shifted so I could see what he was doing and watched as he put it under the frozen chicken. I took a seat and brought my legs up, my toes curling over the edge of the seat and I realized that I wouldn't be able to keep doing that after a while. He sat across from me and said, "We could ask Matsuda if he wants to watch the monitors…for safety reasons." I looked up at him and he added, "And maybe give him a show."

"Light!" It was one thing to talk about it when we were in the throes of passion, and quite another when we were sitting at the kitchen table and I was eating ice cream.

"Of course, we'd have to wait a few days so he didn't think it was strictly for his benefit." I could feel my cheeks burning and I took another bite of the pink ice cream and tried my best to ignore him. He moved closer to me and put a hand on my leg, "The things I would do to you…" I shifted a bit and his hand brushed against my crotch. He moved it and began groping me, "I want to make you scream while he watches." I was hard from what his hand was doing and I felt my member twitch at his words. His hand kept moving, unzipping my pants and slipping inside and he licked my neck. I put the bowl down and let out a soft moan and he began speaking again. "I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to sit down for a week…while he watches." My hips bucked and I reached for him, oddly excited by his words as I pictured him taking me in the kitchen. His lips found mine and then, speak of the devil, the door to the kitchen opened and Matsuda walked in.

His face was completely red and he said, "I-er, sorry…" as Light took his hand out of my pants. I pouted, wondering what had happened to his plan and if he'd chickened out, but Matsuda came a bit further into the room when it was clear Light was no longer molesting me. He moved to the coffee pot and then Light's hands undid the button of my pants and his hand snaked in once again, slipping beneath the layer of my boxers and his fingers wrapped around me. I kept quiet for as long as I could, but when Light slipped to his knees and took me in his mouth I couldn't help but let out a soft moan. I saw Matsuda's back tense and he put the mug of coffee he was holding on the counter, and I could tell he wanted to turn around and look. This had turned out better than planned, because Light had only talked about arranging for Matsuda to walk in on us. This had been truly accidental, but it didn't mean we wouldn't work it to our favor. And then Light pulled me under the table with him. I undid his pants and lowered my mouth to his rod. I felt his fingers in my ass and I moaned, the vibration from my mouth caused him to moan as well and then he pushed me to all fours, facing away from him. And Matsuda hadn't left yet.

He kept his promise, slamming into me so hard my teeth rattled and the sound of flesh hitting flesh was extremely loud. I liked having an audience. It didn't mean I didn't like alone time with Light, either, because I did. This was just…thrilling. I groaned as Light's hand began to stroke me and my breathing, which was already slightly erratic, became shorter still and Matsuda turned around. Curiosity had finally gotten the better of him and I could see from the tenting in his pants he was happy to find himself in the room at the moment. And there was no longer any reason to be quiet, but I was, because making noise made it more real. Light broke the silence first with a loud moan, "Shii…nnng, ohmygod…"

"Light…" I screamed and I heard a zipper being undone and I looked once more towards Matsuda. He really was enjoying watching us…enough to jerk off, apparently, and I moaned loudly, eyes closing as I just let the pleasure and pain ride me. "Oh…fuck!" I heard Light's own scream as we both climaxed and, shortly after, another low moan and a _thud_ as Matsuda fell to his knees, reaching his own orgasm. I felt Light pull out of me and he stood up, pulling up his pants but not buttoning them yet and he grabbed some paper towels. He gave me some and then took some for himself before handing the roll to Matsuda who looked quite embarrassed.

After we were all cleaned up, and so was the floor, the three of us walked into the main office in silence. There really wasn't anything that needed to be said, it was pretty clear we'd all enjoyed it and I didn't think anyone was opposed to doing it again. And then we had a lead, forensics had found traces of chlorine on the body of one of the new Kira's victims and we had to wonder if this new killer liked a more hands-on approach. This was the third victim with this exact trace of chlorine. We had it traced back to the manufacturer and then to the outdoor pool in the area. I called the boys at Whammy House and told them to make their way to Tokyo. While there had still been a bit of uncertainty, we could always be wrong; I had more than a hunch now that this new Kira was in Tokyo. Matt said he needed at least a day to figure out whom to leave in charge of the orphanage but the three of them would be at our Headquarters the next day and I told him to meet us at the pool we thought the killer might be found at. The next morning, however, Light and I were preparing for some undercover work and heading to the pool, and I had to wear a bathing suit. It was a simple pair of shorts, black, with a drawstring but it was weird not wearing anything underneath. But I was told I would be allowed to walk around barefoot on the deck, which made me a bit more comfortable. Besides, Light would be going with me. I didn't get to see his bathing suit because he was already dressed by the time I woke up and I put on the suit and then my clothing on top of it. Mogi drove us, once again, and we paid the fee to go in and Light pulled me towards two chairs and he started taking off his clothes.

I took off my shirt slowly, not really wanting to, but he assured me it would be OK and I really didn't have another choice unless I wanted to get my clothes wet. Besides, jeans weren't allowed in the pool and if I were taking off my pants I might as well take the shirt off, too. I was pretty sure he just liked seeing me without most of my clothes on in a public place, but the sight of him made me freeze with my pants half-down my legs. His body was more tanned than mine, and the only thing adorning it were a shiny, spandex-looking pair of black _underwear_. I couldn't even call it a bathing suit. And he looked hot, the way his muscles rippled as he moved and the spandex conformed around his bulge. I wanted to do very bad things to him in that moment and I sat down on the chair as he put on lotion.

He sat behind me, his legs on either side of the chair and he began to put lotion on me. "What's that for?" I asked, and he just shook his head as if I knew nothing and handed me the bottle, rubbing the lotion into my back and giving me a massage. Oh…it was to keep me from getting burned by the sun. I relaxed into his skilled hands and then felt them wrap around to my chest and I leaned against him and decided to take advantage of the situation. My hand snaked behind me and found that spandex-covered organ that I loved so much and I began to massage it. He coughed and pulled me closer and pulled a towel out of his bag and placed it so it would cover what I was doing to him. That was probably a good idea because, if the lifeguard across the pool that was looking at us so oddly figured it out, we'd probably get escorted off the premises. "Light…" I said softly and he nuzzled my neck, grunting, and I smiled at his apparent inability to speak. "I can't swim."

He laughed and pulled my hand away from his crotch and stood up. I smiled a bit victoriously at how extremely odd his 'bathing suit' looked now and there was a small gap on his left where it should have met with his skin and I could see just how much his member was straining against the fabric and then he squatted in front of me, letting his crotch press against my leg and he pulled the lotion from where it was on the seat. And then his hands were on my legs and my own shaft rose to attention as his hands lingered on my thighs. I couldn't believe this touching in public was allowed. Then again, we were probably crossing the line a bit, but so far no one seemed to be paying attention to us…aside from that one lifeguard. Was he like Matsuda? Did he, perhaps, enjoy watching us? The expression on his face was unreadable and I didn't like it.

And then Light stood up and his crotch was in my face for a moment and I touched his thigh before he sat next to me. He cradled my face in his hands and gently put the lotion on. I liked being pampered by him, I realized, it was sweet. I darted a look towards that lifeguard once more as Light let his hand trail to my leg and let it rest there, and he said, "I wonder why he keeps looking at us."

Apparently, he was just as suspicious as I was. And then we both saw something that was a big surprise. My eyes widened minutely as a Shinigami appeared from behind the stand the lifeguard was sitting on and came to float in mid-air next to him. I grabbed Light's crotch to cover the gasp he let out and the fact that his eyes widened noticeably. "Shush…you'll give away our advantage. They don't know we can see the Shinigami," I whispered in his ear and I pulled my hand away as a shadow blocked out the sun and I looked up seeing what looked like a rather annoyed mother.

"Honestly, I have my kids here…" and she started ranting about us being inappropriate and I tuned her out, muttering an apology once in a while and eventually she left. I turned to Light and he actually laughed, and a small smile pulled at my lips and I tugged at his hand, pulling him toward the water.

"Come on…I've figured out why he's looking at us so strangely…" I kept smiling so it wouldn't look odd for our very serious conversation, and we headed for the stairs. I dipped a toe in and said, "It's cold!" And then he picked me up and I gave a startled 'eep' and then saying 'it's cold' was too late. It _was_ cold, for the first few moments, and then I pushed out of his arms and glared at him as he just smiled cockily at me. I splashed him a bit indignantly and he splashed back, then he pulled me towards him and we were _wrestling_. I took the time to say, "The bracelets shield our names…if he has the eyes he can't see our names so we stick out from the crowd. That's definitely Kira."

"Shit," he muttered and pushed my head under the water. We were still in the shallow end so it was alright and I ducked under further, planting my butt on the ground and kicking out at his knees. They buckled and he went under and I surged upward, pushing at his head to keep it there. His arms wrapped around my waist he pulled me under with him, kissing me briefly before bringing us both to the surface. I pushed against his chest, trying to get away and catch my breath at the same time. I ignored the odd looks we were receiving. I was used to them. Light, too, ignored them. I had the feeling he was getting used to them, as well.

I heard a splash from my left and looked a moment too late as a hand that didn't belong to Light came at me, pushing my head underwater, and I fought back against my new assailant. When I finally resurfaced I couldn't help but smile as I held Matt's head under the water this time and then, finally, let him go. He sulked over to Mello who was sitting on the edge with his feet in. Matt had on goggles and looked quite funny, and Mello was wearing the same type of swimsuit Light had on only his was red. I ducked under and opened my eyes, ignoring the sting of the chlorine and read Light's suit. 'Speedo.' When I came back up I pressed my body to his as I slid against it and I felt his knees buckle once more but I didn't think it had anything to do with violence now.

"Honestly," Matt said, smiling. "Can't bring you two anywhere, can we?" And then his voice got more serious, "So what's up?" I looked around and didn't see Near anywhere. As if sensing my intent Matt supplied: "He's at HQ…" It was probably better that way, anyway. I doubted the lifeguard could really read any of our names from that distance and I filled them in when Mello finally decided to get in the pool. Or, rather, Matt bodily forced him to.

* * *

A//N

Wellll the Whammy Boys are here!


	13. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Notes**;;

Apparently decided to stop sending me alerts when you review… So I've taken to checking my review page once in a while. ^-^  
**jasxn**;; Me too. ^-^  
**Shannara810**;; Yes, they, er, have lots of issues…  
**Freakitten**;; LOL! I don't actually know…if they would do that afterwards… O.O

* * *

Chapter Thirteen:

Apparently, Matt confided in me later, he'd threatened Mello that if the blonde wasn't at least civil to Light there would be no sex…and so Mello was, well, _civil_ to Light. At least he wasn't brandishing guns at him or pretending he didn't exist. I conversed with Mello and Matt in English, it was quicker and less people would know it, and they didn't look when I mentioned the lifeguard. They had probably already seen him and didn't want to draw more attention to our group than necessary. "He's coming over here…" I looked at Light who had been the one still facing that direction and he added, "I think we should try and get his name." And then Light made his way to the side of the pool and was out.

I watched as he 'accidentally' bumped into the lifeguard and Mello said, "That should have been one of us…he could be passing along some kind of message." My foot came out of the water, striking Mello's jaw as I spun and hated how the water slowed my movement…but I'd still managed to surprise him. I grunted as his elbow rammed into my stomach and I doubled over in pain, gasping for breath and my first thought was _the baby!_

And then I launched myself at him, feeling slightly crazed, and my knee connected with hit groin as my own elbow met with his jaw and I jumped, planting both my feet squarely against his chest and he flew backward. But this point we'd drawn a small crowd and I ignored the whistle being blown above my head as I descended on him and my hands wrapped around his throat. There was a splash to my right as Light landed in the pool next to me but I ignored him as well, my eyes solely for Mello's. "Don't you _ever_ hit me there again…do you understand me?" He nodded and I tightened my grip. "I _said_, do you understand me?"

"Yes…" he managed to say and I shook him a bit, noticing he was turning a slightly blue.

"Yes…_what_?" I prompted and pressed my body more tightly against his.

"Y-yes…_sir_!" I released him and took a step back and then Mello brought his knees up and I was shoved out of the way as Light was suddenly between us, Mello's feet connecting with the small of his back…exactly where my stomach had been a moment before. And then Light was holding me back as I tried to get at Mello and Matt was holding Mello back from attacking either Light or I and the crowd around us was cheering and placing bets while the lifeguards were trying to restore order.

"Stop…fighting me…" Light pleaded and I did. I stopped moving and looked at him. He was trying to hide that he was in pain, but I could see it.

I brought my hand up and cupped his cheek, "You're hurt…" Even as he began to deny it he winced in pain as lifeguards tore us apart and I looked at Matt and Mello who were also being escorted out of the pool by several guards. "I'll go quietly…" I said and they let me walk on my own and I headed for Light, pulling one of his arms over my shoulders and they let me take him from them. He was limping and I knew he was strong, _that must have been some kick_. Mello must have used all his strength…strength aimed towards my stomach. Once again Light had taken a blow meant for me. "You should go to the hospital…"

The minute I said it I knew it would be a bad idea and he laughed, "Ha…that'll go over well. A dead guy walks into a hospital."

I felt tears sting my eyes and I knew it was probably because of my body's hormones and I hit him lightly in the shoulder, "That's not funny! You're hurt…I can tell."

"I'll get over it…" but his voice sounded strained as we reached our seats and I grabbed his towel, wrapping it around him. He took both my hands in his and said, "You're alright, though…both of you…right? I saw him elbow you…" and he let one hand trail to my stomach and I sat next to him, pulling my own towel around me. Up until the moment when he stepped between Mello and me, I hadn't been sure he was happy about this. I knew he had his fears…so did I, but now I knew he wanted to protect the baby. "Because if he hurt it…I'll kill him." The way Light said it in such a serious tone, the words coming from the original Kira's lips, made me believe him and I shivered.

"I think we should both go to the hospital today…our ID's should hold up under any scrutiny, we should be OK." He nodded and I helped him lay back against the seat and then I moved to my own.

I stood again as Mello and Matt came over to us, Matt hanging back and Mello actually approaching us. The blonde looked at Light and said, "If you're willing to take a blow for him…I guess you're good enough for him."

"He took a bullet for me, Mello." _That_ got the blonde's attention back in my direction and I pointed to the only scar on Light's body, all the other bullet wounds had been fresh when he'd died so hadn't scarred, and I traced the scar on his right shoulder. "See this…he saved my life. So I don't think it's your business to decide who is or isn't good enough when you don't know a thing about the situation." He took a step back and I followed until I was standing right in front of him once more. "He and I…are having a kid. So even if you don't like him all that much, even if you don't approve…I don't care." His eyes widened in surprise and I added, "If it came to a choice between you guys and him…I'd choose him; in a heartbeat I would choose him."

"W-what do you mean, having a kid? Like a baby?" I nodded and he blinked, "So…wait, you're adopting or something?" I shook my head, 'no,' and he said, "Th-that's impossible!" I only shrugged and a pained expression swept over his face and he turned to Matt, "I WANT TO HAVE A BABY!!!" He hit Matt on the chest several times and Matt only glared at me like it was _my_ fault, and Mello kept whining how it wasn't fair. "MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!"

I shook my head and went to sit by Light once more and kissed his cheek, "Well…did you find anything out about that guy?"

"No…I was too busy trying to keep you out of trouble," he teased and I shrugged. "Don't worry…we can hack into the institution's database and check their employee listing when we get home."

I pulled away a bit, there was that term _home_, again. "Light…" I said, feeling slightly foolish for the question I wanted to ask. He looked at me warily and I continued, "What…are we?" I blinked and blushed, "I mean…aside from the obvious being human and male but…as a couple." I had never actually been in a relationship before, so it was really only natural for me to wonder. "Are we…dating? Are you my boyfriend? I mean…you're a boy and you're a friend, so the term doesn't really fit. My…Significant Other? Or are we just really…good friends? Are we more?"

He had frozen when I'd first asked the question but now he was looking at me seriously and he answered, "I suppose Significant Other is the most…accurate. But…I really don't know." I felt a bit dejected at his answer, or rather lack of an answer, and I frowned. "But…do you _want_ it to be more?" I looked up and couldn't _quite_ keep the hope from my eyes. "We are having a child together…" and his hand was cupping my cheek, the tips of his fingers buried in my hair and I felt like time was standing still and I had quite forgotten to breathe. "Do you…I mean, would you…" he cleared his throat as if he wasn't sure he should say whatever it was he was trying to say and then it all came out in a rush. "Would you be averse to becoming Mr. Yagami?"

I let out my breath in a rush and more or less tackled him in a hug and he let out a grunt of pain and I said, "Sorry." My eyes widened in horror and I said, "I mean…yes! No, I mean no. I mean…" I took a deep breath and felt rather foolish again. Damn him for wording his question in that way! "No I wouldn't be averse to taking your name. And yes, I will marry you."

He laughed at my apparent confusion and kissed me and then I heard Mello's voice once more, "OY! MATT! I WANT TO GET MARRIED!!! MAKE IT HAPPEN! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

I smiled in a satisfied way and pulled away from Light slowly, and my eye's found Matt's. He walked over to us slowly and said, in a low voice so Mello wouldn't overhear, "Nice going…now _he_ won't shut up about marriage and kids…someday you two will pay for this."

Mello was chomping on a chocolate bar and then the smell hit me and I stood up, feeling a bit queasy. "Light…" he stood as well, wincing a bit, but he pulled me towards him and the scent of the chlorine on his body only made it worse. "Let's go shower…and I can take a look at your back." I almost laughed at the pathetic look Matt was giving me as Mello pestered him about something else, "At least we don't have to deal with Mello, anymore…"

"I feel sorry for Matt," Light agreed and once we were in the locker room I made him face the wall as I looked at his back. Purple-bluish bruises took up almost the entire bottom part of his back and I touched one gingerly, but he still hissed in pain. "What the Hell…Ow!" I sighed, it really couldn't be helped, I was trying to see how far the damage went and pulled him out of the shower before turning it on and making sure it was the right temperature before letting him back in. Heat, and then later I would have to make him put ice packs on it. Half an hour later I felt clean again and I was back in my jeans and t-shirt, and Light was in his brown pants and button-down shirt and we both felt rather like idiots for forgetting boxers to change into and so we went commando. But a small part of me liked knowing he didn't have anything on beneath the pants as we got into the car Mogi pulled up in front of the building with.

I didn't like him being in pain and once in a while, if the car hit a pothole or jolted too much, I could hear that he was in pain. I made him lay on his stomach on or bed and got ice packs and hot packs. "This really isn't necessary…" he said and I ignored him, putting the ice on his back.

"If you move I'm going to chain you to the bed…so don't even think about it." He rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't complain aside from saying it was too cold. I ignored that, too, until after about twenty minutes when I switched it for the heat packs. I worked from our room, getting up once in a while to change the pack on his back and make sure he was comfortable and cursing Mello in my head the entire time.

"Ryuuzaki," I heard from the computer and I pressed a button.

"Yes, Matsuda-san?" I was actually feeling a bit tired but until this whole thing was settled I didn't feel like sleeping.

"Matt couldn't hack into their database…" I groaned and sat back in my chair, debating for a moment, then I heard motion from behind me.

"Let me try…" I glared at Light but he was already up, a hand pressing the ice pack to his back as he moved into the seat next to me and I passed him the keyboard. "Matsuda-san, what's the website?" He keyed it in as Matsuda read it out to him and looked over at me, and I got up, moving behind him. "I need coffee for this…and something to eat." And suddenly I realized I didn't know the first thing about making coffee…or about cooking. Everyone always made things for me or my food always came in wrappers. "It's ok…I'll ask Matsuda-s-"

"No! I'll do it." I moved away from him towards the door, "The others are busy…" And I wanted to try. I couldn't rely on the others for everything. The look he was giving me was a bit disbelieving and I added, "If…I can't figure it out I'll ask them for help." He nodded and turned his attention back to the screen and I left, now worried about how to make coffee. I could fly a jet or a helicopter by reading the instruction manuals…so why was I so worried about a stupid coffee pot?

I entered the kitchen and it felt foreign, some place I only went as a visitor, not a place I went to because I belonged and I looked for the instruction manual for the coffee pot. I didn't find it, and that ruined my entire plan but I filled it with water like I had seen Light do countless times and checked the filter. I recoiled as the smell hit me and pushed it away, running to the bathroom and throwing up. Great start, right? Ugh, wonderful, I couldn't even change the filter without throwing up. I headed into the main office and pushed open the door a bit put out and said, "I don't know how to make coffee."

At first silence followed my simple statement, and then laughter. I didn't like being laughed at but Light wanted coffee so I just crossed my arms across my chest and in a disgruntled sort of way until Matsuda said, "You're serious…" I nodded and he got up, coming back into the kitchen with me and he asked, "Why do you want to make coffee, anyway?"

I shrugged and slipped my hands back into my pockets, "Light wants coffee…" He smiled knowingly and taught me how to make coffee and the old proverb crossed my mind. 'Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life.' I was determined to learn to make coffee so that this wouldn't happen again.

* * *

A//N

Ok soo I wasn't sure I would get this done before I had to go! But I did, enjoy and leave me reviews!


	14. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Notes**;;

**Crescendoll**;; Yeah, Mello was a bit of a brat…but L's Alpha Male showed a bit…o.o He can be scary, sometimes… I prefer tea as well. :D  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Thanks!  
**Freakitten**;; Nah, it won't be in this story. And L is very much a guy…that chapter was about showing he's definitely male just comfortable with his feminine side…but he _is_ male.  
**Shannara810**;;

* * *

Chapter Fourteen:

I had made coffee! Well, Matsuda had _guided_ me as I made coffee, but he more or less let me do the actual work. "Thank you…" I said, pouring some into a mug and, recalling Light preferred his coffee black, I grabbed a bag of chips and I brought them upstairs carefully so I wouldn't spill the coffee. I opened the door and peered in and smiled at the sight that greeted me.

Light sat bent over the desk, nose practically touching the screen and eyes fixated on the image in front of him as his fingers stroked the keys at a fast pace and code scrolled on the screen. The ice pack lay discarded on the floor and I grabbed one of the heat pads that would stick to his skin and he jumped a bit at the contact when I put it on him. "It's just me…go back to work. Get it done so we can rest, ok?" He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. It wasn't until I woke up with a jolt that I realized I had fallen asleep at all, and I was curled up to Light and we were in our bed. I reached around him, glad he'd taken the heat pad off because those things are not meant to be slept in, and then he opened one eye and looked at the clock.

"Is too early…" he groaned and pulled me back towards him, and then he cursed and stopped moving. "Next time you start a fight with Mello, whatever the reason, make sure it's _after_ the baby is born so I don't have to worry about you so much."

I shook my head and made him turn onto his stomach and I looked at his back. "You're lucky we were in water…otherwise something probably would have broken or snapped."

"Well…that's great," he said, voice laced with sarcasm. He pushed up and said, "I would go back to sleep…but I don't think I could. Are there any heavy pain meds around or sleeping pills?" I shrugged again and he said, "What? I can tell you're thinking something…"

"I'm thinking we should go to the hospital…we were supposed to go yesterday, but we thought Kira's identity more important…" He nodded thoughtfully, "Can we? They can give you a prescription for the pain…and I can get a sonogram…make sure everything is alright."

"Yeah. Sure. If you want…" He swung his legs over the side of the bed, "I just want a shower first." I followed and helped him with the soap when he was in too much pain to reach. "L…" I looked up at him as we were getting dressed, my eyes locking with his, "Thanks…"

I shifted a bit and said, "You're welcome." And then I called Mogi to come and get us so we could go to the hospital. I turned on the computer and began researching radiologists in the area who might be less keen on putting me in some type of lab and experimenting on me due to this 'medical miracle' and I couldn't find any who I thought would respect my privacy enough. The only doctor I really wanted to go to was ranked in the top ten in the entire world…and she was in America. Number Three, out of ten, and the reason I didn't like One was because he seemed fixated on money. Two, from reports, wasn't particularly _friendly_. And so Three it was that I was settled on. "Light…you should see a doctor today, the one I want is in America…I will have to give her a call and make special arrangements." And then my brain turned on, "Wait! Last night…were you able to hack into their system?"

He smiled and said, "Yes…I got his name, Near and Matt are following up on it. It turns out his family are the ones that run the pool. And as for this American doctor…what's wrong with the ones in Japan?"

I looked at him seriously. "I'm male…and I'm pregnant. This is going to cause a bit of a scandal. When looking for a doctor I looked for certain requirements. A certain amount of respect for their patient as well as a respect for privacy. She's never had a mal-practice suit filed against her and has been in the medical field for over twenty years. I think she would hold true to her doctor-patient confidentiality trust and that's something I will need to rely upon, especially if I don't want to travel. Since Japan legalized same-sex marriage in the year 2012 it doesn't matter where we are, but I'd rather not travel and risk hurting the baby. But if the only way to see her is to go to America, I will…at least for now. However, people usually are willing to travel if offered enough money."

"Alright…I give up," he laughed, "I shouldn't be surprised you put that much thought into it…and your reasons are logical. Very well, we'll call this doctor in America. When I get back from the hospital and am pleasantly numbed from my pain, we'll call."

It was then I realized that Leon Kilnsworth and Samuel Wright had no medical records and Light hacked into the systems as I forged the correct documentation and he _made _us medical records. I nodded and we made our way downstairs and he refused to let me help him, probably because of his pride, but I understood. Half an hour later we were sitting in the Emergency Room in the uncomfortable chairs they had set up in the waiting area. The waiting area in which one waited to be seen by a nurse and _then_ a doctor; really, they needed to cut out the middle-man.

Finally they called 'Kilnsworth' and I went with him into the small office and the nurse told him to take a seat on the bed and asked what was wrong. She had the paperwork from when we'd first come in so I wasn't sure why we had to repeat ourselves. "He got kicked in the back?" she asked and winced at the thought. "I hope you're going to sue the bastard."

"Can't…" Light said, "He's kind of family." She gave us an odd look and shook her head, and then left to go and get the doctor. When the doctor finally came in he was a short, balding man with a bad comb-over and he shook each of our hands, and he, too, asked what was wrong.

Light took off his shirt but I had to help him and the doctor moved to see his back, and I looked as well. It was black, blue and red all over and very, very swollen and I knew what he would say a moment before he said it, "You should have gotten this looked at sooner. I'll need to X-Ray but I'm fairly certain you've torn some ligaments in there. You should keep off your feet until it's healed and keep off your back if you can. Alright, let's take some X-Rays and then I'll see what I can do for you. At least it looks like _some_ proper care was given so far…" he looked at me, "Ice packs and heat packs?" I nodded and he had the nurse from earlier come over with a wheel-chair.

"I can walk" he started to say, getting to his feet, and I pushed him into the chair and he grimaced. "Alright…" he hissed, glaring at me, "You could have asked me nicely, you know…" I only shrugged and walked alongside the chair as the nurse pushed it towards the X-Ray room. He'd sprained his back…that was what torn ligaments meant, now all we needed to do was ascertain how bad the damage was and see if he needed surgery.

The nurse, apparently, wanted to make small-talk. "So, what did you mean that the person who hit you was kind of family?"

He and I exchanged a look before he said, "He's going to be my brother-in-law soon…kind of. He's my fiancé's adoptive brother." I smiled, liking the sound of that: fiancé.

She nodded as if she understood but seemed a bit upset that he was engaged. Then she asked, "Where is your fiancé? Working?" Ah, trying to see just how loyal Light was to this mystery fiancé. And before he could answer she was talking once more, "I was engaged…but he moved and eventually the distance tore us apart."

Finally we were at the X-Ray room and I had resisted the urge to hit her only because I knew he was going home with me, that, and he never showed any interest in her. They moved him onto the table and covered most of him with a heavy material then made me leave the room with them so they could take their pictures of his back, and when they were finished I went back in and helped him sit up before the nurse could. When they left us alone to go and develop the X-Rays I said, "I don't like her."

He laughed and took my hand, bringing it to his lips, "I had a feeling you were going to say that." I was standing and he was sitting, his legs dangling over the edge of the 'bed.' He pulled me closer so my waist was between his legs and wrapped his arms around my neck. "You know you have nothing to worry about, right?"

I smiled and said, "I trust _you_. It's everyone else I'm worried about." He laughed again and his hands tangled in my shirt, pulling me closer and he kissed me. I forgot where we were as I kissed him back, and I never wanted the moment to stop but the door opened and I heard a gasp and something fell to the floor and I turned to look. The nurse was back with a shocked expression on her face which made me happy and she'd dropped a box of rubber gloves. She bent to retrieve the box and I kissed Light again thoroughly before moving away from him as she switched the empty box of gloves that was in the room for the full ones in her hands before leaving once more. "I bet she feels rather foolish," he said and I shrugged, but I felt a bit triumphant. And then the door opened once more and the doctor came in with a folder in his hands.

"It's a second degree sprain, the ligaments are not in the best shape and the only thing we can really do for you is give you a back brace, some pain killers and just wait for them to heal." I knew he wasn't keen on the brace, but he wanted the meds. "Alright, Mr. Kilnsworth, it looks like you don't have insurance so where should we send the bill?"

I answered this time, "The Whammy House in England will be covering this expense" and Light shot me an annoyed look that I ignored. And then we were free to go after he had to sign a few pieces of paper and I gave them the address for the Whammy House. When we were back in the car I said, "Don't give me that look…you're pretty much family…we look after our own. Besides, you don't really have money and I know your mother can't afford it. We've been helping her out all these years…"

"I really don't have much say in the matter so…thank you." I only nodded and forced him to put on the back brace. "This really isn't necessary…"

"If you don't wear it I won't give you the pain meds. In fact, we won't even collect them from the pharmacy. I'll be monitoring the medication and making sure you wear it…I want your back healing properly." He put it on and we got to the pharmacy, Mogi went in to get the prescription and then we all went back to Headquarters. There were sandwiches in the kitchen and I made him eat one before giving him the medicine since the directions said to take with food, but he refused to go back to bed and insisted on helping with the case. I had already pushed him far enough with the brace and food, he was putting his foot down and being stubborn simply for the sake of being stubborn. But I could be just as much a pain if I wanted to be.

But Near and Matt were back saying they had wired this Harue Kihiko's place with cameras and taps and the images and sounds were being transmitted to HQ. And Ryuk, who was usually found haunting the floor that had once been Misa's, actually decided to grace us with his presence. The others, of course, couldn't see him and I asked Near to touch my bracelet. Still, no effect, apparently the bracelet had to be made with a specific person in mind. Matsuda and Mogi were the only ones in the room, aside from Light and myself, that could see and hear Ryuk and I asked, once more, to own the Death Note I had owned while in The Place Between. He gave it to me and they each touched it, then I forfeited it once more, thankful once again for Light having briefly owned one and letting me touch it before forfeiting it. Finally, when everyone could see Ryuk, I felt better about the situation.

"Ryuk…you can still see it right?" I asked, hoping that he could. I was still throwing up so I knew the chances were good Mello hadn't hurt the baby, but there was a small percentage that he had and I was really hoping he hadn't. Ryuk looked at me oddly and then at my stomach and nodded. "Good…so, uhm…to business." Everyone, aside from Light, were looking at me oddly and then Matt figured it out. I glared at him to keep him quiet and said, "This…Kihiko, has he done anything suspicious lately?"

"He talks to himself frequently," Near supplied then looked at Ryuk, "Although I suspect he is really just talking to his Shinigami." I nodded, it was a logical conclusion, Light and I had seen the Shinigami for ourselves and I knew it was a probability. "He tends to shut himself in his room with the TV on, and it sounds like he watches cartoons. He probably has a second TV with the news being broadcast and the sound off."

And then it was Matt's turn to speak and he beamed a bit proudly, "So we managed to wire the house while the family was at church." He stepped aside and pushed a button on the wall and another line of monitors behind him sprang to life. "Since we're pretty sure he's Kira I covered every inch of each room with a minimum of cameras and taps. Naturally, there are a total of one-hundred and eighty in the house. As you can see..." he gestured to the wall of only eight monitors, "We can flip our viewpoints with the controller if we don't have the angle we want. If he switches rooms the monitors will change to the correct camera since I put motion detectors in the rooms. Also, because of the motion sensors, the cameras will seek out the best angles on their own."

"Good work, Matt…Near." I stepped closer and noticed that both parents were home and eating dinner. It appeared that Harue Kihiko was an only child, less for us to worry about, really. I checked his list of rooms and noticed he also covered both attic and basement just in case. "Very good work."

* * *

A//N

Ahh poor Light…and his back.


	15. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Fifteen

**Author's Notes**;;

**Shannara810**;; Yes, Mello is…entertaining, eh? Ha, that nurse doesn't hold a candle to L. :D  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Again: Thanks :D That means a lot to me.  
**Yuka-chan16**;; No worries, 'soon' is something I'm good at.  
**GreatCheesyPoofGirl**;; I'm glad you like this one better, TM was sort of…well I wrote it more to get it out of the way, I suppose, so I could write this one. Alas, that one scene with Light taking a bullet for L was what inspired me to embark in writing fanfiction to begin with…but then I was all… SEQUEL SEQUEL SEQUEL. Ahem… :D  
**umetsuba**;; Thank you for the review! Twisted Midnight was indeed my first fanfic, although not the first thing I've ever written, but this is the first time I've decided to take my writing and attempt to play with a world not my creation in novel form (aside from the role-play world, which is a far cry from this). Well, I'll stop rambling now and just get on with the story!  
**Freakitten**;; Yes, which is why L wants it to heal properly…he's all worried. O.O

-Looks at the above list- Well…that's beginning to get rather, ah, long. :D

* * *

Chapter Fifteen:

I pulled Matt aside later, "There are going to be a few doctor's bills charged to Whammy House…since you are in charge I am-"

"Don't worry about it…" he said curtly and I blinked, looking away. "And…I won't tell anyone. That look you gave me told me enough." I smiled ruefully and he hugged me briefly before we made our way back to the others.

When nearly everyone had gone to bed or left, Near taking his turn to watch the monitors, I made Light get up. His eyes were drooping and I knew he was tired, but I helped him up to our bedroom and made him lay on his stomach. I gave him his medicine and helped take off the brace so he could sleep comfortably. The brace itself was for when Light was moving around, and despite my own craving for sexual satisfaction I was going to let him sleep. "L…" I heard and froze as Near's voice was emitted from my speakers. And then, "I'm transmitting these images to you, you should see this." I hurried back to my desktop and flipped on the monitor and the image of Akihiko was in front of me…and he was saying something in a low voice. And now there was another figure in the room – the Shinigami. He hadn't been there earlier and I wondered what he'd been doing.

I cranked up the volume of my speakers and heard him talking. "No…I don't want to. Dellidublly, this was _all_ your idea!" the young man stood and pointed an accusing finger at the God of Death. "I don't want to-"

"You will do as you're told, fool! Harue…if you don't do this then I cannot save your soul." My eyes widened and then narrowed angrily. The Shinigami was obviously manipulating Kihiko with false hope…once he had written in the Death Note, Harue Kihiko had damned his own soul, but apparently Dellidublly was not so kind as to mention that. In fact…I doubted that particular Death Note even had rules written on it. Kihiko looked like he was having an internal debate and I watched as the Shinigami played its Trump card. "The Death King himself has told me he will ensure your family lives a prosperous life…as well as assuring your soul goes to Heaven."

And then the boy gave in to the Shinigami's demands. He pulled the Death Note from his book-bag and set it on his desk, turning on the TV to a harmless movie on HBO, and then sliding doors above his desk that revealed a second TV. So…we had been right in our guesses and I watched him turn it on, glaring at the Shinigami, and switched to the news station. I grinned deviously and had an idea. If Harue Kihiko was so worried about the future of his family…what would he do if his family were criminals? I pressed a button on the desk, "Near…no, N…I need your help. Since L is dead I need you to broadcast on the channel he is watching exactly what I tell you. Have any of the police contacted you yet about helping with the investigation?"

"L…the Americans have asked for my help…the, ah, Japanese police seem worried about a…repeat of events." I flushed and was glad he couldn't see it. "So many wound up dead last time that they flat-out refused to speak with me when I initially contacted them." He paused, hesitating, and I feared what he would say next. "I'm fairly certain at least some of them knew the extent of your relationship with Light." I cursed, had I really expected Aizawa or the others to keep quiet about it? Or to _not_ show that tape after I was dead? After all…I was dead so it really didn't matter. Mogi? No, I didn't think he was the type to use that sort of thing to further his career. Matsuda seemed to be too highly strung in his beliefs to do that…Soichiro was dead, which left Aizawa. Aizawa who was now _Chief_.

"Near…who in the Japanese police force did you speak with?" I waited as he considered telling me.

"Chief Aizawa." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and sat in the revolving chair in front of the monitor. Maybe Aizawa had earned his position fairly after all and was one of the few that did know. Knowing how Aizawa had felt about _me_ it was no small wonder he'd refused to let Near help.

"I see…Aizawa, Mogi and Matsuda are the few who knew about my relationship with Light. Aizawa was part of the first investigation team." _I was thinking about contacting him,_ I admitted silently and wondered if I should have. "Please ask Chief Aizawa to come here tomorrow at some point."

"I will. L…Matsuda seems very childish," Near's voice sounded softer than it had a moment before and I wondered at it but didn't ask. "Is he trustworthy?"

I took a deep breath before answering, "Yes…he has my complete trust, when he isn't being a clumsy idiot." I then realized I had given Near the wrong impression, "No…he has my trust, but he _can_ be a bit trying sometimes…or he used to be. He seems to have grown up a bit in the last ten years. I find I am more tolerable of him now." I smirked, a _lot_ more tolerable. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I, uhm…noreason." I blinked, slightly amused at this turn of events. Apparently Near had moved on from me quickly enough…and he liked _Matsuda_? "Now, ah…what was it you wanted me to broadcast?"

I would have to arrange for Matsuda and Near to work together and see what happened. "It won't be for a few days, maybe next week…I don't want to draw suspicions to Light, Matt, Mello and I so soon since we were at the pool earlier…the Shinigami might still suspect us anyway, but I don't think Kihiko is intelligent enough for it." I stole a look in Light's direction, sleeping soundly, and I realized I was tired. Damn. Changes. In. My. Body. "Near…we can speak of this more tomorrow, I - I'm going to bed."

"It's…so _early_," he said, obviously surprised. "L…Mello said something earlier that, well, I was wondering if it were true." I froze, suddenly nervous, and he continued, "He said you…it's so ridiculous! He said you were having a baby…with Light." He paused briefly before continuing in a rush, "I know it's a very stupid thing to insinuate that, well, it in a way _un-mans _ you so you can see how I have a problem with it but really, it's utterly nonsensical considering that you _are_ male and you can't _possibly_ give birth to a child!"

He paused to breathe and I chuckled, shaking my head slowly and interrupted before he could continue. "Near…" I said simply and he stopped talking. "Trust me when I confirm that I am, in fact, male. But the condition of my pregnancy is very real, and although I'm not one-hundred percent certain how it occurred, I'm planning on bringing this child into the world." I frowned and not for the first time wondered _how_, and then it hit me: Caesarian birth. "And yes…the child is Light's." There was silence for a few moments and I said, "Is there anything else, Near?"

Again silence, and then, "N-no…" and the contact was ended. I stood slowly and made my way to the bed, climbing onto it and curling into a ball under the blankets and trying to make as little motion as possible so it wouldn't bother Light, whose snores were being softly emitted from his side of the bed. They truly had become like background noise to me by now, something I hardly noticed, and I wasn't sure I could fall asleep without hearing them unless utterly exhausted. I let them lull me to sleep, my body inching towards his as if not under my command and when I woke up I was wrapped around his body and he was still sleeping.

The next day Matt and Mello went back to the pool to avoid drawing suspicion upon themselves and also to keep an eye on Kihiko. Near, however, arranged to have the Death Note in Kihiko's possession swapped out for a fake one…and so he prepared to have the fake made and the switch would occur the next day. The trouble was…Kihiko kept the Death Note in his bag, and so Matt and Mello's job was to go and take pictures of it so we would correctly duplicate the pages he'd written on. That part of the plan, it seemed, went off without a hitch and we arranged a false broadcasting, like we had with Misa, to announce the fake deaths.

Aizawa arrived just after lunch time, as if he were going back to the office after his break and this were merely a quick stop along the way. He was wary and I couldn't blame him as I watched him on the monitors. "I knew it!" he said, pointing at Mogi and Matsuda. "So _this_ is where you've been spending your time! I thought I told you no one was to work on the Kira case!"

Matsuda looked at him oddly and asked, "Aizawa-san…obviously if you were allowed in, somebody wants you here…otherwise, well…you remember the security in this place?" I watched as Aizawa took in the monitors behind Matsuda, who was alone in the main office with Mogi, and Light crept up behind me.

"Perhaps we ought to go say hello?" I shook my head and pointed at the monitor once more. He was back in his brace, thankfully, but he hadn't taken his meds. He said they messed with his head and if he could do without he would. "So…we watch a bit longer?"

Again, I nodded, and watched as Near entered the room. "Hello…Aizawa-san, I am N. L spoke very highly of you and I wish to ask you once more to reconsider your denial of my request. You see…we have located Kira and ascertained his identity, but capturing him would be made much easier if we had the full cooperation of the Japanese police. Please take a seat…make yourself comfortable. I was told you used to spend much time here, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa's eyes widened and he said, "Y-you…you know who Kira is?" Near nodded and blinked innocently at Aizawa. I really couldn't blame the man for his alarm; after all, N looked much like myself aside from his hair and a few other slight features. I realized a bit belatedly he'd modeled his image after my own as he twirled his hair idly around his fingers. "I - I see. If you would give me his name, I can assure he would be arrested." But he did take a seat because Near had and then he was suddenly the only one standing. Aizawa had always loathed feeling the odd one out.

"It is not so simple, Aizawa-san. He has the eyes, or so I am told," I winced…N had made an error as Aizawa's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And he himself does not wish to kill people but is being manipulated into doing so. This is something that requires great caution."

"I see," Aizawa sneered, "Am I to assume _you_ have some sort of fool-proof plan?"

"No plan is fool-proof, Aizawa-san, but I am confident the one my colleagues and I have thought up will succeed." Again, Near had made a mistake. I much would have preferred Aizawa not discover Matt, Mello, Light or myself. But it was too late now, the damage, as they said, had been done.

"You keep mentioning others, N…would you mind filling me in on who your cohorts are or, even better, introducing me so I may decide if helping you is truly a good idea. I'm not overly fond of working with people whose identities remain unknown."

"Come on…" I hissed and grabbed Light's hand and I turned off the monitor. "Let's go greet our guest…damn you, Near…" We headed down the stairs slowly and I feared Aizawa might have stormed off by the time we got there at the pace we were going, but Light was injured and I could still hear them talking as we neared the door. Near was trying to stall, speaking of team members out on fieldwork and how he couldn't possibly introduce him to everyone and that it _wasn't his place_. "Damn you…Near." I had wanted him to pretend to be in charge of the investigation, but apparently he was second-guessing himself and demurely admitting he had a superior without realizing himself what he was doing as he allowed himself to feel…and then it hit me. Near didn't feel good enough to assume my role. I sighed heavily; I myself had told him it was alright to be human, after all.

I pushed open the door and said, "It's alright, N. I have no qualms with Aizawa-san knowing who is really running this operation." The lie slipped as easily from my lips as Light and I glided through the door. I released his hand so Aizawa would not feel more uncomfortable than he already did and he looked at us, mouth hanging open, and looked completely and utterly speechless.

"B-but y-you…you're dead!" I smiled sadly, "I - I saw your body with my own eyes…was first on the scene! The both of you were just laying there cold as stone. The owner of the motel was freaked out…I…I saw you."

"Yes, Aizawa-san…you did." He blinked, obviously confused, and I added, "But now I am back…and before _you_ start on it as well, Light is not Kira. If he were Kira this time around it wouldn't have dragged on so."

"I…I see…" he said, "I need to sit down."

I only sat down in my usual chair and Light took his to my right. "But Aizawa-san…you _are_ sitting down."

"Oh…right…good for me." He sounded distracted and short of breath and I stood once more, walking over to him.

I put a hand on his shoulder to show him I was indeed alive and not a figment of his imagination and said, "Breathe…just breathe."

He jumped when I touched him, launching himself to his feet and pointed at me. "You…you're an abomination! By all means you should be rotten and in your grave!"

"Yes, Aizawa-san, that would only be logical. Yet I am here standing in front of you. If you wish to get an order of exhumation upon our graves I would be eager to hear the results as well." I smiled innocently and headed back to my chair, "Now…you would be a valuable asset to the team, Aizawa-san, and I need to know if you wish to work with us once more."

* * *

A//N

O.O

I wonder what will happen…

:D

OH YEAH!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(And a HAPPY CHANNUKAH!)


	16. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Notes**;;

**Shannara810**;; :D I assure you…L knows how to protect himself. And yeah, Matsuda was going to wind up with either Near or Sayu…finally I picked Near.  
**Freakitten**;; I think Aizawa is a bit homophobic…this should be amusing. And…soon.

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Sixteen:

He seemed to think about it once more. Obviously my team had already found Kira, unless we were bluffing, and he had made no headway on the case. Then again it really wasn't my style to bluff about such matters unless I had something to gain, and Aizawa's help was worth the truth rather than the lie. He finally looked up and his gaze was for Light, "You're asking me to…work with two dead people, one of which is a murderer…"

Light stood up, obviously angry, and said, "Watch it…Ryuuzaki already told you that I'm not Kira this time…" I slipped my hand into Light's, trying to calm him. "If I were, trust me everyone here would be dead."

Near stood up and, to my surprise, said "It is true, Aizawa-san. I believe that if Light were Kira this task force would not exist. Also," he said, thinking about something deeply, "He would not be trying to catch Kira with us. Light does not own a Death Note and I do not think Ryuuzaki would allow him to own once more."

I was about to speak, but Light beat me to it once more. "He's not my _keeper_! Besides…if I really wanted to own a Death Note I could ask Ryuk at _any time_. I forfeited a Death Note when The Oracles first brought us back to life…I don't want to own a Death Note again. There is too much at stake for me and nothing to gain," he looked at me and then at our joined hands. _No!_ I thought, _Don't say it!_ But my thoughts were too late, "If I'm going to be a fa-" He caught my look and shut up.

The words were a bomb and the effect was an explosion. Near winced minutely while Mogi's eyes actually showed expression as they widened before returning to his usual stoic mask; Matsuda was gaping and must have been recalling that conversation with me regarding my eating habits while Aizawa clearly didn't understand. "You do sometimes make a mess of things," I whispered and gently wrapped my arms around him from behind

"Why shouldn't I tell people?" he asked as he turned to face me, "I'm not ashamed of being with you." He kissed my cheek before pulling away a bit, "It's a _happy_ occasion, something to celebrate…not hide." I flung my arms around him tightly and he muttered something along the lines of "ohfuckshitmyback" and I pulled away, pouting apologetically, but he just shook his head and kissed me.

"Wait…so you two are, what, still together?" Aizawa's voice cut through the moment and I wanted to glare at him, but I didn't take my eyes from Light. "Even after…everything you put each other through? How can you still like him, Ryuuzaki? He's a killer. Soichiro was right about your relationship being wrong, but he only thought so for very few of the actual reasons."

This time I _did_ glare at him, stepping from behind Light so I could look at him fully. "Aizawa…" I said, purposefully leaving out the honorific and being disrespectful. "Is that how you honestly feel?"

Matsuda stood up and, hands curled into fists at his side said, "Chief…are you in love with your wife?"

He looked at Matsuda, surprised, "Of course."

"And do you love your daughter?"

"O-of course, but I really don't see how this is rel-"

"Just shut up and listen, then." I was surprised at how angry Matsuda looked. "Think carefully about all the reasons you love your wife and tell me…if at some point people began to think heterosexual relationships wrong, morally, would you still love your wife?"

"I - well, I suppose I would but clearly no one considers the relationship I have with my wife to be immoral."

"Which is why I'm asking you in the set of the hypothetical…say, if your wife had some spell put over her that changed her gender, would you still love her?"

"I - I'm not sure." Aizawa's voice faltered and I smirked, knowing where Matsuda was taking this.

"We can't help who we fall for, Aizawa-san…and we don't fall for how a person looks. When a person falls in love with another person sure, physical description has much to do with it and they usually find the other person at least somewhat appealing, but it's getting to know someone that pushes you over that edge from like to love." I risked a glance at Near who was watching Matsuda with open, unblinking eyes and I was glad Matsuda was a hopeless romantic. That sort of person would be good for Near and help make him have some fun in his life.

I turned my attention back to Aizawa and watched as he mentally warred with himself. I didn't think Matsuda had really won him over to the Gay Rights brigade, but he _was_ making the Chief think, and that was always a start. The logical part of Aizawa that was telling him to run as fast as he could from the introspection was at battle with his need to catch and arrest Kira and to close the case once and for all.

"I…I think you overstep your bounds, Matsuda-san. I can put aside my personal feelings on this to work with you…but I work for the same reasons Chief Yagami did when he was alive: Justice. I want this Kira in jail or in a mental institution, taking into consideration that he is being manipulated…you have the cooperation of the police but to an extent." He looked at me squarely and I stood my ground, "Some of your tactics went too far last time, Ryuuzaki. I will not tolerate that again, and I will be keeping my cell phone turned on in here. I want more personal freedom and believe me when I say I have things in my possession that could ruin you as a detective."

I flinched and asked, "Are you trying to blackmail me, Aizawa-san?" I had to be sure of his intent as we stared at one another.

"Merely taking precautions. You are cruel in your methods and ruthless as well, not to mention the way you treat people is wrong. People are _not_ merely pawns on your chessboard, Ryuuzaki! You can't just throw away lives! If you resort to those old ways, believe me when I say I will make your life very unpleasant."

I did, I believed him whole-heartedly, but what Aizawa didn't understand was that sometimes the cruel methods were necessary and I _didn't_ enjoy it. "I see…very well, you leave me little choice, Aizawa-san." _And you won't find out if I do need to resort to those measures…_I added silently. The game was on.

Later that night I was sitting at the computer with Light asleep on the bed once more as I checked the contact information for Dr. Sandra Jennings and I debated between calling or emailing. The trouble with e-mail was that it left a paper-trail, but if I e-mailed her I could let her know the e-mail was from L if I chose to in a much easier fashion than by phone. If she knew the request was from someone who was not only supposedly dead but was also the greatest detective the world had ever known, she might be more open-minded about traveling to Japan.

M eyes were burning and stung with my need to close them and sleep and I thought perhaps I would make the decision the next day. No, just get it over with…I had to get over my nerves and do it. I picked up the phone and began to dial before closing it again, putting it on the desk. There was something very personal about a phone call and I wouldn't be able to use the voice scrambler…not for something like this. I was nervous about meeting with her because I was scared there might be something wrong with the pregnancy. Hell, the whole pregnancy thing in general was getting to me and slightly disturbing considering my gender. But eventually I sat and wrote a short e-mail from 'L' that mentioned I had a highly sensitive matter which needed her expertise. She could take that any way she liked; I was hoping her curiosity would be enough to bring her to Japan.

It was only a few minutes later when I received a reply and I looked at the time, recalling the zone difference. It was almost three in the morning in Japan, but in America it was probably that time in the afternoon. I clicked it open and noticed that she herself must have been nervous when writing it. Her choice in words was careful and it made me feel slightly better about having used my anonymity to contact her with an untraceable e-mail address. She politely requested more information and the fact she was slightly shocked to be hearing from a supposed dead man, the latter in which I could read a hint of humor. She wasn't surprised to be hearing from L. As far as some of the smarter people in the world were concerned, L was someone who _could_ disappear and make people believe him to be dead if he liked.

I told her, once again, I was requesting her presence on a strictly professional level and assured her she would be paid and her travel expenses would be taken care of by myself. She would have a place to stay free of charge and her help would be greatly appreciated. I also let her know that her discretion was to be valued more than anything else. I could feel my hands sweating as I typed. I _hated_ being nervous.

When her reply came once more it was nearly half an hour later she agreed to meet with me in Japan and I let out a sigh of relief. I told her to book the flight and give me the information and I would have the correct funds transferred to her account to replenish what came out of it and she e-mailed me back when she had. I didn't need her to tell me her account number, I wasn't the world's three top detectives for nothing, and I wired the money in before heading to bed.

"L…wake up," I heard and opened my eyes slowly to find Light's face inches from my own. I moved slowly and looked at the time, eyes going wide as I saw I'd slept for almost ten hours.

I bolted to my feet and said, "Why didn't you wake me earlier?!" He just looked at me like I was crazy and I half-pulled him towards the bathroom. I turned on the shower as he stripped and I tore off my shirt, realizing I'd fallen asleep in my clothes again. I grimaced in distaste, I was really beginning to hate wearing anything in bed, and I felt his hands undoing my pants. It was then I noticed the slight rounding to my stomach that seemed to have sprung up overnight. I knew, logically, it _hadn't_ been overnight but it still felt very soon. It was just the slightest evidence of my weight gain and Light smiled, putting his hand over my stomach gently. He kissed it lightly and then pulled my pants and boxers all the way down, trailing his kisses lower. "Light…your back?"

"I'll be fine…" he kissed my inner thigh and I sighed, and then his mouth was on me, devouring me and my fingers came to rest in his hair for support as he licked and sucked. My hips bucked on their own and he kept going. We didn't often indulge in much foreplay, although we did on occasion, and it made it that much better when we did. He pulled me down until I was on my knees and he was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall and I moved closer, his mouth taking in just the head of me as his tongue teased where it met the shaft.

"Mmmff…L-Light…" He seemed to get my meaning and took me in, I felt myself curving gently along the line of his throat and I screamed as he took my entire length, which was considerable, and then slowly pulled back. "Oh…my…God." He grinned up at me and I said, "Do…that…again." He obliged and once more I felt his throat around me and it constricted slightly, "Nngg…" My eyes fluttered shut as he did this a few more times and I could feel I was close. Then he stuck two fingers inside of my opening and they were slick with I didn't even know what and I didn't care. He pushed in, probing gently and he hit my prostate. "Oh Fuck!" He moaned as he kept sucking on me and I shivered, "L-Light! Ohgod…soon!" But he didn't stop and my hips thrashed wildly as I felt myself explode into his mouth. He kept sucking and I began to shake as he made sure I was completely dry before allowing me to collapse into his lap, my head resting gently on his shoulder as I slowly became aware of my surroundings once more. I frowned when I saw he was still erect and lowered my hand, holding him loosely ad I began to stroke him.

"Mmmnnngg" he moaned and I smiled, my hand moving faster with confidence and ease as I brought my lips to his. I trailed my tongue down, biting the flesh over his pulse before licking it and then sucking on it hard enough to leave a mark.

"Mine…" I whispered before moving down his collar-bone and taking his nipple in my mouth, my hand never pausing in its attention as I rolled my tongue around the nipple expertly then bit around it. He yelped in both pain and pleasure and I grinned at the perfect set of teeth marks I'd left. "Mine…" I whispered again and began licking and kissing my way down his body once more.

My hand slid down him and stroked only the base of him as my tongue darted over the slit on his tip, "Unnngg L…" I looked up at him through my lashes before swirling my tongue around the head, my breath coming out in a rush and he twitched. I smiled and placed my lips over the head again, my hand still stroking him, and I pulled my other hand away as I pulled my lips off of him completely. I sucked on my fingers gently before I went back to sucking on his throbbing member and I inserted a finger into him slowly. He wasn't as used to this as I was so I went in and out as slowly as possible, stretching him gently as I moved my finger in a circular motion and I searched for the center of nerves located just behind the ball-sac my right had had dropped to as I took more of him into my mouth. "Aahhhh oh holy shit…L…" I inserted another finger of my left hand while my right left him for a moment to search for the cherries I kept on a tray in the bathroom. Then for the first time I flicked off the cherries, more interested in the stems, and I put it into my mouth and then took him back in. And I began to tie them into a knot as he screamed and writhed with pleasure.

I inserted the third finger as my tongue worked and I found it…that spot, the prostate. I touched it gently, testing him out, and as I finished the knot I let the stems fall out of my mouth a second before hot liquid rushed into it.

* * *

A//N

Knew he'd put that tongue to good use eventually. ;) I couldn't resist, I've wanted to write that for a while now.

Once again: Happy Holidays! Now I'm off to my own party.


	17. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Seventeen

**Author's Notes**;;

**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Hehe glad you liked it!  
**Freakitten**;; I like being unpredictable! ^_~

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Seventeen:

We got up slowly and I turned on the water, wiping a bit of his seed from the corner of my lip. "I ask again," I smirked, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He gave a throaty laugh and just joined me in the shower, kissing my cheek. "No…really…I've never slept that long in my life."

"Sleep is good for you," he said simply, "I think those dark circles have faded a bit." I blinked, surprised, and stepped out to look in the mirror. He might have been right…but I wasn't sure. I sighed and stepped back in, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.

"Dr. Jennings will be here by dinner time…" I said as his lips traced my neck. "If she isn't too tired from her flight…we…should in-invite her t-to dinner." Oh the things that boy could do with his hands as they began to work my body back to life. Every breath out of his mouth and onto my neck seemed to shoot straight to my groin which was happily nested in his nimble fingers. "Mmmf…we're…w-wasting t-time." He let out a dark chuckle which made me shiver and harden further, it was apparently his intent to waste time. "W-we d-don't have t-tiiiime." And he was stroking me and pulling us both to the floor as he grabbed the soap and then I was straddling his legs and he was inside of me. "Unnnngggffuck."

"Hmmm?" He licked my ear and I began to move up, down, up and down. "What was that y-you…were saying?"

"Hnnn? W-Were we t-t-talkiinnnng?" That made him laugh again and he brought his hand beck down to stroke me once more and then I wasn't sure I would be able to form coherent words anymore even if he tried to coax them from me. Time didn't feel like it was moving while we made love in the shower, both of us reaching our climax within seconds of each other, and I fell off of him more than anything, collapsing against him as the water washed away any traces of our sexual deviancy. Eventually I grabbed the soap and began washing us, vaguely remembering we were supposed to be downstairs working on the Kira case with the others, and it was after lunch time and I was _hungry_.

No, I decided hungry wasn't the word as we finally made our way downstairs almost an hour after he'd woken me up. _Starved_ sounded much more appropriate, _ravenous, empty, stomach-beginning-to-eat-itself_ were much better terms for how I was feeling. Naturally there wasn't anything to eat and I didn't want ice cream. I was starting to freak out and I felt Light grab my arms from behind me and turn me to face him. I stilled, his eyes finding mine, and he asked, "What do you want to eat?"

"Food! Something, anything! Breakfast…" He smiled and I pushed away from him, opening a drawer and pulling out a lollipop happily. I shoved it in my mouth then, a second later, tossed it in the trash. "Ugh…not that." I kept looking and finally found some donuts and I pulled one out, taking a tentative bite. I ate half of one before that, too, joined the pop in the trash. "I…don't know." I felt at a loss, my usual foods of preference just not doing it for me, and the look I gave him was so dejected and depressed he actually laughed at me.

"Alright…" he said, steering me into the main office, "Sit here…" I sat in my usual seat as the others watched this exchange, obviously amused. "I'm going to make you a real breakfast." I nodded, pouting and turning so I would be facing the monitors and brought my feet up. I could hear him laughing softly as he left the room to go back into the kitchen. I turned to see everyone, everyone being Matsuda, Mogi, Near, Matt and…Aizawa all staring at me. "Alright!" I snapped, "Back to work!" And back to work they went, hurriedly, so as not to piss me off. I could hear Aizawa whispering, asking Matsuda why I wasn't surrounded by my usual amount of sweets, and I turned towards him. "None. Of. Your. Business." I was in a foul mood and didn't care that I was taking it out on the others. I knew, somewhere deep inside, this was due to the pregnancy…these mood swings…and I spun back around and turned to Matt. "The Death Note…you'll be making that switch today, right? Has Near completed the fake?"

"I have," I heard and turned to see the white-haired boy standing next to the blonde Mello. Near approached me as if with caution and I didn't blame him, but it still made me mad to see the way he did so. After I took the book from him, he almost jumped back a few steps.

"Relax! Sheesh, I'm not going to bite your head off…" I turned and started comparing the fake to the images of the real one. "At least not unless you do something to deserve it." That earned a few laughs around the room and I glared at them. "Seriously…do your jobs, people!" I heard them muttering, wondering why I was in such a foul mood, and then someone whispered, 'What's up his ass, anyway?' and I burst out laughing. Well, _Light_ had been in my ass not too long ago, but they didn't need to know that. I smiled at my own, private joke but, after that, I was a much more pleasant person to be around. "This is good, Near…" I handed it back to him, smiling a bit.

I looked around the room, they were all looking at me like they had no idea how I would react to the slightest thing. Matsuda approached almost more cautiously than Near had and said, "I, uh…Ryuuzaki…I found some m-more murders."

I sighed, putting my thumb in my mouth and growled, "I'm pregnant…not crazy, ok?" And those words, aloud, had more or less the same reaction as Light's almost slip of it the day before. I took a deep breath, "Wow that sentence alone sort of makes me _sound_ crazy, but I'm not." Then the smell of syrup hit me and I looked up. Light had a tray of eggs, french toast, pancakes and waffles and he set it between our usual seats and I looked at it dubiously for there were large amounts of each substance. Everyone gasped at my next question, "You don't expect me to be able to finish that, do you?" He laughed and just pushed it towards me and I dug in, my fork digging into the sugar-coated goodness.

"Just finish what you can, I'll eat the rest." The only thing I left mostly untouched was, oddly, the french toast which I'd taken one bite of and knew it would make me sick later. I at all the waffles and most of the pancakes, along with making a sizable dent in the eggs and then finally was full. I looked down, blinking in surprise at how much I _had_ eaten. I pushed the tray towards Light and he took the fork as he started to eat what I hadn't.

"Light…" I said, and he looked at me. "Where did you learn to cook like that?" I was curious because I, personally, couldn't cook a thing. Well, at least one of us could.

"When I was thirteen my mother went into the hospital." I nodded, I knew this from the extensive background check I had done on his family, "My sister was too young for anything, really, and my father worked all the time. It was either learn to cook or my family starved. Trust me, no one wanted to ever eat my dad's cooking."

I smiled softly and ran a hand through his hair, "Well…you cook well, thank you for breakfast." His cheeks colored a light pink and I wondered that we could still make each other blush, but it wasn't a bad thing. I leaned over and kissed that pink tinge on his cheek before getting back to work and letting him eat.

"How far along are you?" I heard from behind me and turned to see Matsuda was the one to ask the question. He wasn't the only one looking at me for the answer, though, and I thought about it, counting once more in my head.

"About eight weeks…" Mello's eyes widened and Matt stepped closer to me.

"That's about as long as you've been back…" I nodded and shrugged, turning back to my computer and looking at the information Matsuda had given me regarding the new Kira murders. Mello was jealous and doing a very bad job at hiding it.

"There's someone outside the building," I heard from my right and looked up at the monitors displaying the entrance. It was the doctor and I stood up, putting my hands in my pockets, and Light stood as well, shooting me a curious look and I just nodded. "Well…here goes nothing," Light said and I grabbed his hand as we walked to greet her. "Although, considering we just ate, maybe we should make it a late dinner tonight?"

"Yes, she probably wants time to settle in, anyway," I replied and we headed into the lobby of the building and I pressed a button, opening the doors for her. She stepped in looking nervous and I took a step closer to her, offering my hand. "Dr. Jennings…thank you for coming, especially on such short notice, it really is appreciated." My right foot nervously scratched at my left leg as we shook hands. "I'm L."

Her eyes widened in surprise, as everyone's did, when I allowed someone to know who I was, and she took in my ragged and young appearance. She recovered from her shock quickly enough and Light stepped forward and introduced himself as well and she was, now more than ever, wondering why she was here. "Dr. Jennings," I said cautiously, "Please follow me. I will show you to the apartment that will be yours for the duration of your stay. Any equipment you feel you require will be provided for and you may keep once finished here."

"And," she said tentatively, for both Light and I had been speaking in English, "What is it you wish me to do…exactly?" Her voice was melodically pitched, not too low but not too high. I turned to look at her once again, noting cat-like green eyes and dark, brown hair that fell in gentle curls to the middle of her back.

"Your job, Dr. Jennings." My voice was cool, calculating, and her eyes widened a bit. "Just your job."

"You do realized my specialty is that of pregnancy, from sonogram to actual birth, correct?" She was still trying to figure out why she was here, I admired it.

"Yes…that is why you were called. I did my homework, Dr." I had to smile at how silly that sounded, even to me.

"Then you know my ranking, world-wide, is only third?" I blinked, noting that she didn't sound bitter, but I bet if I pushed enough she would.

"Yes, however…you have morals, which I value over higher ranking. Like I said, Dr. Jennings, I did my research. I wasn't particularly fond of Dr. Kether or Dr. Garron, their records and personalities didn't sound all that appealing. When ranked so high as yourself and the others I have found there is little difference in skill, however when choosing a Dr. personality is often the trait most should seek as the golden ticket." Light looked at me a bit wide-eyed and I smirked, "What? I know _some_ movies…"

"Yeah, it's just…abnormal for you, that's all." I rolled my eyes and ignored him for a moment.

"I did watch movies with the others growing up, Light." We were still speaking in English so as not to upset the doctor, and I winked in his direction. "Although I have to admit they were few and far between and I didn't see the point." We bypassed the main office so I wouldn't have to deal with introductions until later and while we were in the elevator I asked, "After you are settled in would you be averse to joining some of my colleagues and I for dinner?"

She agreed to dinner and I told her I would phone later with the time. I showed her around and, finally, when the short tour was complete we were all sitting in the living room of the floor of the building I had given her and I handed her a card-key so she could enter and exit whenever she wanted. Ryuk hovered annoyingly around us during this time, since we had given her Misa's old floor as it was still furnished and we'd had Linda clean it, but the Shinigami was dancing at the sight of fresh blood. Light and I completely ignored him as I said, "Well, now for an explanation…" I stood and said, "Or, perhaps you could perform a sonogram and it would be explained?"

She was far too curious to argue. What would the famous detective L want with a specialist in fetal examination, pregnancy and birthing? So she followed back into the small examination room I'd had set up and I sat on the 'bed.' "Please…you should test out the equipment, Dr. Jennings. We wouldn't want for any of it to be dysfunctional." She nodded as I laid on the bed and she looked at me questioningly. "Treat me as if you would a female patient who came in to receive a sonogram to confirm pregnancy." She nodded, so I was making sense so far…that was good.

"Usually I have a nurse prepare the patient, but…seeing as I'm alone now, I'll do it." I watched as she spread the clear gel into her hand and onto a small, round instrument I knew would take pictures of the inside of my stomach. "This is state of the art equipment, I have to admit I'm envious."

"It's yours…consider it as part of your compensation for having to travel out here at my request." She looked at me, shocked, apparently having forgotten my earlier words and she lifted the bottom of my shirt up. When she noticed the small bulge I didn't blame her for being surprised and her green eyes met mine, wide and confused. "Yeah…that was pretty much my reaction."

"Uhm, right…well, now I'll lay the gel on. How…should I address you? It feels strange to call you by a letter…" Her voice was unsure of itself now and I sighed.

"Please, call me Ryuuzaki." She nodded and I added, "Continue, Dr. Jennings, just like you would as if I were female."

She nodded once more, "Call me Sandra." And then the cold gel was on my stomach and I hissed in surprise. She had flipped on the monitors earlier and now she placed the metal contraption, covered in yet more gel, over the slight bulge. Her eyes flicked to the screen and widened in alarm and I followed them. "I…this is impossible."

Light took my hand, but his eyes were all for the monitor as he tried to figure out what he was seeing. "Yes," I said, and her eyes were back on mine. "So I've noticed. However, perhaps now you see why I asked for your discretion?"

She nodded and I was surprised to see her blush and she pointed at the screen. "Here…you've obviously been able to develop an environment the baby can grow in." She pointed to a blob and said, "The placenta looks like it should, and considering you only appear to be…eight weeks?" She looked at me and I nodded, "But your body differs from that of a female here." She pointed again a bit lower on the screen as she moved the censor down my stomach. "Where there would be an opening in the female body…yours is lacking one. Instead, it's clear you are in fact male because I can see your urinary tract…" She stopped pointing as she realized that impossible had indeed become reality. She squinted up at the monitor and moved the censor once again. "Here…your body differs again from anything I've ever seen. You…somehow managed to produce eggs."

I nodded, seeing where she was pointing, and I understood. If Light and I hadn't had sex when we did I probably would have started having a monthly cycle much like a woman…and considering Light's entry to my body was my rear, that was most likely where I would have bled from. "There's a tube…" I said, looking at the inside of my own body as if from a distanced point of view. "That…shouldn't be there."

"No," she turned, looking at me once more. "It shouldn't. Most women have two fallopian tubes, you have one. I looked down at my bracelet and knew I needed a word with The Oracles. Did they put me back together incorrectly on purpose? Light's hand gave mine a squeeze and the doctor began speaking once more. "It seems as if the anal track leads to the fallopian tube…and has a flap much like the throat does. I could figure out what the trigger is that opens the flap, Ryuuzaki, if you would give consent to my testing you."

* * *

A//N

Things are getting explained….kind of sort of not really. Or is it merely leaving you with more questions?


	18. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Eighteen

**Author's Notes**;;

**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Thanks :D  
**Shannara810**;; That's because I haven't mentioned her yet. Very perceptive. I'm planning on it eventually…promise!  
**Yuka-Chan16**;; Welll you're about to find out. ;)

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Eighteen:

"That won't be necessary, Sandra." I began to sit up as I realized I already knew what the trigger was. It was a dual process of the release of Serotonin combined with pressure on the Prostate. I stopped mid-motion and she pushed me by the shoulders back into position and I let her. Then I noticed Ryuk doing something very strange. He was looking at the Ultrasound then back to me, and eventually he came over to my side and his eyes went wider. I shifted so the small metal device in her hands had to either fall off of me or slide to that side and I said, "Oh, shit."

Light looked at me and then back at the monitor and I saw his own eyes widen as well at the sight of two small figures inside one amniotic bubble. All three humans in the room said, "Mono amniotic twins" at the same time and I put my head back down, no longer looking at the screen, concentrating on my breathing and the ceiling instead so I didn't have Light's initial reaction in fainting. I glared at Ryuk in a 'why didn't you say something' kind of way and he said, "You told me to 'shut up.'"

One thought process at a time, I decided, I would worry about the fact that I was having twins later. My body was not how it was supposed to be. "Oh my God…this is…my fault." Everyone looked at me, including the doctor, and I wished I hadn't said anything. "Well, not directly my fault, but…nevermind…I don't know what's going on…I think I'm just really tired." The doctor gave me an apologetic look and wiped the gel off and I slid to my feet as I got off the table, pulling Light close.

He was tense, he knew I had been lying when I said I didn't know what was going on, and I just pleaded with him silently to leave it be until we were alone. He got the hint and nodded before kissing my cheek and then we both turned to the doctor. "Please get settled in." My voice sounded feint, even to me, "I will call when I know what time dinner will be." I ignored her good-bye and pulled Light out of the room, Ryuk following with his usual laugh. "Go away, Ryuk."

"Sheesh…fine, if that's what you want." When I only glared at him he got bored and drifted through the ceiling.

"Light…when I first realized I preferred men over women it didn't bother me. But I got really bored one day when I was sixteen and…well, I decided to make the most practical design for the male body to be able to conceive a child." I stopped and turned to him, "This…what happened, it's my design. I've always known that if I had the opportunity to have kids of my own I would take it. If you ever repeat that your head will be staked to a pole so everyone can see what happens to people who betray my trust, but anyway…when I realized my sexual preferences and the impossibility of it all I just designed it. I don't know how or why, but somehow _my design_ is now inside of me!"

"L…do you want to talk to The Oracles? Maybe they have an explanation?" I nodded, his thoughts obviously going where mine had been before. Changing my mind I shook my head 'no.'

"Well…which is it, yes or no?" He was clearly amused by my lack of a solid answer.

I glared at him, holding him close in the hallway, "No…I don't want to waste a question. If we have questions at the end that we didn't use I'll ask."

"Alright…" he said, holding me tightly. "Y-you're trembling…?"

"S-sorry I just…" I didn't know what I was going to say, but he put a hand over my lips.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He kissed the tip of my nose, "This…is a lot to take in, for anyone, and believe me when I say I don't envy you. Fuck…twins."

"Twins…" I said in agreement, and then I looked up at him. "I want this…I do. I want this more than I wanted to solve the Kira case the first time around." His eyes met mine and widened when he saw I was serious. "More than I've ever wanted anything…"

"I believe you…" he said.

When we finally got back to the main office it was to the news that apparently Kihiko was about to have some sort of mental breakdown. I really wasn't all that surprised and I decided not to put my plan in motion. Instead, I thought of another question for The Oracles. "Light…" I said, grabbing his arm. "I think we should post-pone the dinner until tomorrow. I want to contact the Oracles…we've overlooked something. It was so simple…it's been staring me in the face this whole time. The question I should have asked even before we left!"

"What are you talking about?" His brown eyes were full of confusion, not for the first time that day and I doubted it would be for the last, and he grabbed me roughly by the shoulders. "What question?"

"Nevermind…let's figure out how to use these bracelets first." And without another word to the Team or Light I pulled him out of the room and towards our own, less crowded floor. I called Sandra Jennings and informed her I wasn't feeling well and dinner would be postponed until the next evening. I did everything I could think of. I pulled, I pushed, I tried opening the snake's mouth, I tried taking it off (which proved impossible) and anything else that crossed my mind. I tried calling for them and screaming in frustration, but nothing woke up the bracelet. "I…give…up…" I collapsed on the bed and looked over at Light who had been trying with his own bracelet as well.

He looked almost as hassled as I felt and sat next to me, thinking hard and I curled onto my side so I could watch him, hoping he thought of something. And then his eyes lit and he stood once more, "Ok…maybe we can only contact The Place Between from a place between…" I sat up, paying attention now, "Last time there was contact we were between unconscious and conscious…would we have to be in the same once more? No…it has to be simpler that that." He headed for the computer and after a few keystrokes, "Perhaps even a place that stands symbolically between mortal realm and divinity would be good enough…like a church. Not just any church, mind you…but a big one."

"I think you're on to something…besides, it's worth trying even if it doesn't work; just something else to rule out." He nodded and I asked, "Where's the nearest church suitable?"

He looked it up and I grimaced at the thought of taking a train, but I knew Mogi's daughter was having a birthday and he had to be there to celebrate it. Cabs were a bit of a nuisance especially since there was a subway station for the train near here and another one letting out a block away from the church.

We headed down and I told the Investigation Team that Light and I were going out. Aizawa asked where and I said, "To ask questions," before pulling Light behind me so we could go.

The station was fairly empty, the rush hour having passed a while ago and it wasn't a weekend where people were out late, but there were still a few people. We walked into a compartment that was less crowded and took the seats in the corner, away from the only other three occupants on it. They were two females and a male…and they were drunk and quite involved in themselves, which suited me just fine. I checked the map and recalled this was a local train, making all stops. We had about forty-five minutes to kill, just wonderful.

"Light…" I shifted, pulling my feet up in front of me and facing him, and I put my thumb in my mouth as I continued, "Do you really think this is going to work?" It was a lame question, but it would hopefully get conversation started, because I didn't feel like spending forty-five minutes in silence.

"I hope so…" he brought his hand up and ran it through his hair, and my eyes watched as his tongue darted out to lick his lips quickly. "If it doesn't then we're back to square one, right?" I nodded and he pulled out a lollipop, offering it to me. I shook my head, not in the mood for one and again I was annoyed at my change in tastes because of the pregnancy, and then he unwrapped it. I'd only witnessed him eating a lollipop once and that had been while we'd been chained together, before we'd admitted our feelings to each other, and his tongue came out once more as he tasted it. He put it in his mouth, just the tip of the round tootsie-pop, before pulling it out again and his eyes met mine. He. Was. Doing. This. On. Purpose. He stuck the whole thing in his mouth and brought it back out, dripping with saliva and I pulled my legs more tightly towards my body as I recalled just what that mouth and tongue had done to me earlier. But he wasn't done with his show as he continued to lick and suck the pop in _very_ suggestive ways, bringing it out of his mouth and swirling his tongue around it, putting it in his mouth and against the inside of his cheek where its shape was oh-so-visible.

I shifted, knowing I was growing hard and felt myself beginning to sweat. I dared a look at the drunken party and saw they were still wrapped up in their conversation and I trained my eyes once more on his lips. The pop was in his mouth and his fingers stroked over the stick and I gasped as I inched closer to him, eyes on the pop and, still, his mouth. He smiled at me as he pulled it out once more, offering me the glistening sweet, "You sure you don't want it?"

"N-no…I-I'm sure." I bit my lip and added, "You…seem to b-be enjoying it a lot." It was hard to concentrate with a raging boner, but so far I was more or less managing. And then he stuck it back in his mouth so far the end of the stick practically disappeared and I whimpered, "Nnnng…" the small moan escaped my throat before I realized. He shifted so he was on his knees facing me on the long, cushioned seat and I looked down as one of his hands slipped between my jean-clad legs and fumbled with my zipper.

I shifted so I was on my knees as well and his hand reached inside my jeans, slipped in the hole in my boxers, and pulled out my by now throbbing member. It wanted attention and he began to stroke me slowly. "Ohhh…" I let out, more of a whisper than anything else, and I was glad when the drunk party of three got out at the next station. I lunged at him, pulling out the pop and tossing it onto the floor before fumbling with his belt and kissing him passionately and his hands wrapped around my waist. "Shit…you really meant it when you said you wouldn't forget about this…"

"I told you…" he said as I felt him slip my pants down and my eyes widened. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my waist as I stood in front of him for a moment and my jeans fell to my ankles and I got back up, straddling him somewhat awkwardly. "You like being an exhibitionist…and I have to admit it is rather exhilarating…" And then he sucked on his fingers before I felt them inside of me. He didn't do much prep work considering he'd already fucked me once that day, but he did make sure my entrance was wet as he positioned himself below me. Before I realized it, he was inside of me with a sharp, quick pain before he hit my prostate and my head fell onto his shoulder, "Mmmm." I was glad for the jacket around me, hiding what we were doing and the fact that I was mostly naked and straddling him on my knees from anyone who could see us through the windows when the train stopped. When the train began moving once more and no one had come onto our compartment, I moved as well.

The lights on the train flickered and I shut my eyes, feeling his tongue on my neck, "Unnngg…Ahh." I opened my eyes again, looking at the mark I'd left on his neck earlier and I began moving faster. Sitting as we were he didn't have much room for motion and then I felt his hand on my rod, moving in time with my own thrusts as I rode him. "OhhhhmyGod…" I moaned a bit louder than intended, and then cursed as the train stopped once more and I had to stop moving. But his hand didn't stop and it was all I could do not to squirm. As the two new-comers, a guy and a girl…probably dating…were about to take their seats I gasped, unable to hold it in anymore as his hand worked me and my hips bucked and he moaned, holding me tighter in his hand. On the plus side, the couple left through the doors that connected the compartments, uneasy looks on their faces as the train began to move once more.

I resumed my own movement and his hand stopped, letting me control the pace as he stayed wrapped around me and as I thrusted it did two jobs: the first was riding him, and the second caused him to jerk me off. "Annnggghhh," I screamed, his breath hot on my neck. "L-Liiighttt…" I could feel it, feel how close I was, and he let me know with a look he was as well. I picked up my pace, slamming down on him faster and thrusting into his hand faster as a result, and I felt him slip his shirt over my shaft as the train screeched to a halt. But I didn't stop, I couldn't, and I felt him fill me as I erupted as well and my vision went blissfully white. Even if someone _had_ walked in on us, I never would have noticed, but it wasn't until the train began to move once more that my vision returned to me and I fell off of him and back into the seat that had originally been mine and half-heartedly pulled up my pants and boxers. When I looked over at him he had fixed his own pants and belt and I cuddled up to him, "We…have got…t-to do that…again sometime…"

He grabbed his jacket and I moved enough so he could put it on to hide the new stain on his shirt and he buttoned it up before holding out an arm for me to snuggle under once more. I looked around and noticed the compartment was still empty aside from us, and kissed his cheek. "I agree," he said, grinning at me. "Only…we aren't just limited to trains, you know…" He checked his watch and added, "We should be there in less than ten minutes…" I smiled again, happy with our chosen way of passing time.

* * *

A//N

Wellllllllll

I have…nothing to say here…other than…

Review?


	19. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Nineteen

**Author's Notes**;;

**GreatCheezyPoofGirl**;; Me too :D And, as I said in the PM I sent you, I was a bit worried about the mpreg thing.  
**Freakitten**;; More…  
**Shannara810**;; No worries, she'll be addressed soon enough…probably not in this chapter, though.  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; I HAVE CHOCOLATES!!!!! Ahem…anywayyy… -looks at thus far unstyled/uncut black wig that needs to be made into L-hair- -.-

* * *

Chapter Nineteen:

When we did get off the train I found it slightly difficult to walk. The lack of proper prep work on my anus caused me to be in more pain than I had anticipated. I was limping slightly and I punched Light in the shoulder gently. "It…hurts…" I said, pouting as he just laughed.

"Well…you know what my offer is." His voice was smooth and something I always like listening to. Smooth as chocolate fudge atop a sundae.

I imagined him 'kissing it better' and grabbed his hand, "I…don't think it's a good idea right now…but I'll have to take you up on that later." Light kissing it better usually involved him kissing and rimming my opening, something I rather enjoyed.

People eyed our joined hands but I pretended not to notice them. Light's reaction was to clamp his left hand more tightly around my right, which I wasn't averse to but I _did_ need circulation. If he held my hand any tighter I wasn't sure that would still be possible. But his grip slackened as we neared the church and I could hear the _clink_ as our bracelets touched and he stepped closer to me and opened the door. I wasn't exactly sure why but I felt nervous walking into a church with a stiff ass, his shirt dirty with the evidence of what we'd done and our hands locked together as if we couldn't let go, but we walked in anyway. As we passed over the threshold, side by side, so close our hips brushed against each other there was a flash of white light and then we were walking through that portal of brightness and I turned towards him, shielding my eyes against his shoulder as my feet kept moving me onward.

Then our feet hit solid ground once more and I opened my eyes in that purple, circular room and look at Light. He was looking down, at our hands, and my eyes followed and I was surprised to see the snakes had moved. One had its tail wrapped around a small part of his bangle while it swallowed the end of the other's tail whose mouth was clamped firmly around a small section of _my_ bangle and they linked us together. I had a small reminder of the time when he and I had been chained together in a similar fashion, in fact it was the same wrists, and then the door opened and I saw Aaron and Evandra on the other side of it.

I didn't wait, I didn't move, I simply _asked_ them my question. "How did the Death King die?" Light's eyes widened and his hand tightened in mine but my gaze was strictly for The Oracles. Evandra smiled and gestured for us to come in but I shook my head, "Just…tell me please…show me…" I didn't know of any way to kill a Shinigami other than the one Light had admitted to me in Mu, and then the air shimmered around me once more and I fell to my knees.

_Gray sky, gray land gray trees…I was in Mu once more and in front of me were two figures. One I couldn't make out very well, but he carried a scepter and wore a crown…the other was Armonia, bedecked in jewels as his usual fashion, and he was carrying something that sparkled despite that Mu was a sunless, lightless place. I couldn't hear what they were saying, in fact all sound seemed to have been cut from me and Armonia brought his arm up and stabbed the King through the chest. The weapon in his hand exploded and the glittering fragments disappeared as the Death King turned to dust._

I looked to my right and saw Light on his knees as well, sweating and I knew I must have looked the same. "You saw…?" I asked, and he nodded. I turned my attention back to The Oracles once more. "Would it be another of my questions to continue in this line of questioning?"

"No…you each get two visits out of us, and as long as your questions _regard_ your initial question then we will still answer you. However, if your question has nothing to do with your other one we shall let you know and you may decide if you wish us to answer or not." My black eyes met her gold and silver ones and she added, "Please…ask your questions."

"What was that spear made of," I asked when I found my voice once more. "The one Armonia used to kill the Death King?"

Aaron was the one who answered this one. "Do you recall the story of Gelus?" I nodded; Misa had told Light who had in turn told me while we were in Mu. "Very good, well as you know Shinigami turn to dust, sand and rust when they die. Only a weapon forged of the death of a Shinigami may kill one of the Shinigami. In effect, Armonia used Gelus to kill the Death King."

"How did he acquire such a weapon?" I looked at Light who had asked the question, and then back at The Oracles.

Evandra's voice cut in once more, "There is a smith who resides in The Place Between, only he can forge weapons such as those. The Place Between, you see, is not merely this site that you are in…there are many who reside on this plane of existence. It merely resides _between_ all other planes."

"T-Thank you…this is enlightening." I turned to Light and asked, "Unless you can think of any more questions for them…we should get back."

"I do have one more question," he said, looking at Evandra. She smiled and he added, "But I don't want to use any of your gifts for this one. If I recall you require payment for any other answers you grant." She nodded, apparently pleased he had remembered, and he slipped off his watch and threw it to her. My eyes widened, wondering what he was doing…he loved that watch. He pointed at my stomach and I blushed as he said, "Explain. I don't think I need to clarify myself."

"Are you not pleased with the result?" she asked and slipped the watch onto her own ever-changing skin, the patterns shifting beneath the silver and it was slightly hypnotic. I forced my gaze away to hear what was said next.

"I…it's not that I'm not pleased, I just wish to understand." He was nervous and I couldn't really blame him. I wouldn't have asked, and I hardly had anything to barter with, but he knew I wanted to know…and I was sure there was a part of him that truly wanted to know.

"Well, then, understand…when he ate the food here his body changed. Rooted inside of him was a desire for this, and his consumption of a more divine source of sustenance than he was used to caused his body to adapt the changes he himself wished, even if was only in the subconscious." She took a step closer and lifted my chin so I was looking her in the eyes. "Think of it as another gift…and more incentive, I suppose."

I nodded and pulled away, stepping closer to Light out of reflex. He turned to me and asked, "Are you satisfied with that answer?" I nodded weakly, still digesting the information. "Then I am finished here." No one said good-bye as Light and I left, no one felt the need to, I was certain we'd all see each other again, anyway. We stepped out of the swirling colors once more and into the church and he said, "I suppose that was productive."

"Yes…" I finally let go of his hand, noticing the snakes had gone back to their previous positions on our separate wrists. I smirked, "Damn…I was sort of hoping they'd stay there…"

He laughed and put an arm around me, turning me around as we walked out of the church and I saw the graveyard. Despite that it was night out, the paths were well lit. "Light…this has to be the church whose bells tolled…do you remember?" He went slightly pale but nodded; this was where we'd been buried. "I still wonder…if it were a wedding or funeral that day. Perhaps there is a way to find out? I hope it was a wedding…" I brought my own arm around his waist as we headed back to the train station. I stopped and pulled him back into the cemetery upon noticing a large cross with absolutely no writing on it. Next to it was Light's grave, and next to that his father was buried. There were two unused plots on the other side of Soichiro's grave, obviously reserved for Sachiko and Sayu whenever they passed on. "We…were buried next to each other…they buried me next to your family."

"Not even death can really keep us apart, I guess." I looked at him, surprised, and he smiled sadly at me and added, "I wonder if we're in there…the graves don't look disturbed. Then again it's been a few months and it's rained since. Although," he paused, "If they had been disturbed I'm sure we would have read it in a paper somewhere…right?"

I shrugged and let my head fall against his shoulder, "We _could_ get an order of exhumation and have them dug up…then again, if people were to slowly catch wind of our return the city might do it anyway. I'm not sure…" I smiled and tilted my head to looked at him, "I'm not sure if I'd rather slowly put the idea out that we're still alive and have the rumors start…or start it with the exhumation and a bang…it would certainly prove interesting either way."

"Ah, but what's wrong with starting over? Living behind a computer screen as super-sleuths and saving the world one criminal at a time?" He pulled away from me and turned so he was facing me. "Letting this all just…fade, letting history be history… Then again if we did that our slate is clean, the L they all know is dead…no reputation to lean on, no status or amount of fame to rely on or make you known. Even I had my own life, a reputation…granted, you all made sure my identity as Kira would be held secret aside from those that needed to know. I don't think my mother ever found out, but it would make starting new more difficult. But why wrest old skeletons from the closet?"

"Merely to see people's reactions, Dr. Jennings wasn't very surprised to be hearing from the supposedly dead Detective L." I took a seat on a bench across the pathway and tugged on his hand until he sat next to me. "Besides, like you said, rising from the dead would give us the ability to resume our old lives…" I stopped, realizing what I'd said, "Uh…without you being Kira."

He smirked, "Alright let's start a pros and cons list." I brought my feet up and faced him, resting my chin on my knees and wrapping my arms around my shins. "A negative to coming back to life, so to speak, everyone will be expecting things of us."

"So you think we should run away from responsibility?"

"No, I didn't say that, but with a baby…babies on the way, do you think that might be more than enough responsibility for a while until we can get adjusted to a new life?"

"But if we were resurrected, in a manner of speaking, there would only be adjusting to coming back and getting settled into our old lives."

"If we did _that_, then there would be no spontaneity…did you ever want a life that wasn't behind a computer screen? Where you weren't depended upon to save anyone unless you wanted to? "

"It would be a lie…it wouldn't be _my_ life. I'd always wonder if I could have had it and achieved that while being me. Sure, it might be fun for a while to play make-believe, and while it would be an escape I don't think either of us would be satisfied with that." I paused to breathe, "It's good to debate with you even if it is true that it would make life very, very difficult for the both of us if the fact that we are alive were ever revealed."

"Yes," he agreed, "Perhaps we ought to come up with a cover story…"

"Or two," I finished, smiling a bit. It had always been fun to just talk to Light. "Hmmm…we could say we were cryogenically frozen…"

He laughed, "What…and be compared to Disney?" He pointed towards our graves, "And what of the bodies, if they are in there?"

"Look-alikes," I replied, gnawing a bit at the pad of my thumb. "And if they aren't in there…"

"Then we say that the bodies were removed for testing regarding the Kira Investigation. They'll believe that. After all…I'm…" I stopped and added, "Wait…they didn't _know_ I was L. We could say we have secretly been working under L all this time…"

And so we stayed like that, talking and scheming, each useless alibi less believable than the one prior to it and all because we never wanted to be in a position to use them. When we were the last two people in the graveyard, all the late-night mourners and church-goers had filed out and we were sitting on the bench he finally said, "Come on…let's get out of here."

I nodded and took the hand he offered and stood, keeping my hand in his and we stopped once more at our own grave site. He knelt by his father's tombstone and touched the earth and I heard him whisper, "I'm sorry…" I didn't comment, I was fairly certain I knew what he was apologizing for…I only felt pity for the situation that his father weren't alive for Light to say those words to…and that Soichiro Yagami would not be able to say: 'I forgive you.'

I heard the care-taker moving around behind us but I didn't turn around, I didn't take my eyes off of Light. If he felt secure enough to show me this side of him I wouldn't be too cowardly or ashamed to look away. It was human nature to give a person space, from what I understood, but it wasn't space I thought he needed as I placed a hand on his shoulder and one of his own rose to cover it. Finally he stood up once more and I wrapped my arms around him from behind, resting my chin on his shoulder. I didn't ask if he was OK, I knew he wasn't and I wasn't one to ask pointless questions, so I waited for him to break the silence first. And while standing at the foot of his father's grave the last thing we expected to happen occurred. There was a bright flash of light along with a _click_ and I pulled away, looking in the direction it had come from while trying to blink away the after-effects of the light and I saw the care-taker with a camera in hand grinning like a man who had followed a rainbow to a pot of gold.

* * *

A//N

o.o


	20. Tainted Starlight::Chapter Twenty

**Author's Notes**;;

**Yuka-Chan16**;; Woot! I 3 addicted fans…  
**GreatCheezyPoofGirl**;; My goal is to post at least one chapter a day…I'm trying to finish this before I go on vacation but it doesn't look like that will happen. Ah well…  
**Shannara810**;; Yes, people in my story have plans within plans within plans. Plot! Oh my! Check out deathnote .tv (without the space) and youtube if you want to watch the other episodes. Also…I'm not a CSI person. o.o

* * *

Chapter Twenty:

The caretaker took off and I launched after him, but he knew the graveyard better than I did and I lost him. It was night and there were mausoleums he could have run into and certainly plenty of tombstones he could have hid behind. There were probably also open graves he could have slipped in and I was forced to give up. I made my way slowly back towards Light and he met me halfway, "I…lost him." I blinked, still in shock that I hadn't been able to catch him, and I repeated it. "I lost him…"

"He was fast…I'm not sure I could have done better, even if my back were one-hundred percent." I met his eyes before looking away once more, annoyed with myself for letting that bastard get away. "Well…I guess we know what tomorrow's front page news will be…"

"Yeah…so which lame excuse is your poison of preference? I mean…there's no way to really explain why neither of us have aged aside from the whole frozen thing…" We began to walk slowly back towards the train station, "L had us cryogenically frozen…and the bodies were doubles. He'd wanted our deaths staged because he didn't think the Kira thing was really over?" I frowned, "It's weird talking about myself like I'm not me."

"We could just hide ourselves away and let it blow over? Just not go out…" His voice betrayed him and I could tell he didn't much like that plan. "No…I don't like the idea of hiding."

"Yes, we are both guilty of the sin of pride…and I don't fancy hiding, either." We got onto the train and took seats next to each other, but I didn't think this train ride would be nearly as fun as the last had been. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had lost to the caretaker. In fact, I _hated_ the feeling and was feeling a bit petty about it. "Fine…we'll act like we were there on purpose…trying to get noticed. I _don't_ lose, we'll say we want to strike fear in the new Kira that we aren't gone…that we are looking for him. Maybe we can lace in a bit of the truth…we were brought back by a higher power to catch the new Kira." I froze and turned to look at him feeling my face lose all color. "We have to go back…Light, we _have to _find him and get that camera! And if we can't do that we have to find out which paper he is selling that picture to before they print an article!"

I pulled out my cell-phone and we got off at the next station, ignoring that we were still far from either destination, and I started making phone calls. I called Aizawa first, as the Chief of police, and told him. He said he would contact all the major newspapers and have them alert him if they received any such photo. "Just…tell them it's a fake…tell them _anything_ to keep them from printing it! Tell them it's a matter of national security." I flipped the phone shut and resisted the urge to tear my hair out. If that photo made it to print…then Kihiko would recognize Light from the pool and _would know his name_. Then I dialed the church and asked for the caretakers name and I told her I was with the police and they could call Chief Aizawa to verify that Samuel Wright was an officer of the law. She didn't call to verify, she just gave me the name which was definitely a good thing. If we couldn't stop this article…we had to stop Kihiko, and soon.

"Light…" I said, looking at him carefully. "We should have Kihiko's Death Note at Headquarters by now…I think you and I need to go and arrest Kihiko…now. Then, after we get a confession, I'm going to have that Death Note destroyed unless I can get Kihiko to forfeit ownership. We can offer him some sort of deal…a lesser penalty if he will just forfeit ownership…I think he would go for that."

Truthfully, when I had destroyed Misa's Death Note she had lost all memories of it once more. She had gotten off on a temporary insanity plea and was charged with fifteen years in a mental institution with hypnotists and therapists trying to get her to remember. But nothing had worked and I knew she was getting released early for good behavior. I didn't know when her last day was, but I didn't think it would be good for her health if _she_ found out Light were still alive, either. I wasn't sure it would be good for _anyone's_ health if she discovered he was alive…not only alive, but with me. Apparently Sayu and Misa had been in the same institution, hopefully Sayu hadn't told Misa about her vision… Misa, with all the evidence stacked against her, had pleaded guilty and still gotten off on the insanity plea…and by pleading guilty her deal was a mental institution instead of jail time. Kihiko might be willing to do the same…I was hoping he would, anyway.

I called Aizawa once again and told him it was time to make an arrest. He said he would send us backup with officers wearing full cover, helmets and all so that Kihiko could not see their faces. It was time for action…I gave Aizawa the address and told him to wait for my command, wait for my arrival at the house, before his troops met up with Light and I. Then I made another call as we walked towards Kihiko's residence, which wasn't overly far, and that was to the caretaker of the graveyard. "Hello?"

"Hello. This is Sam Wright from the Tribune; I believe you took a picture earlier that you have been trying to sell?" This was my last trick, and I was hoping he would fall for it.

"Oh, yes…now I've been having some trouble with the papers…something that they had been warned about me…?"

I smiled, good…this was good. "Yes, I received a phone call along those lines from the police as well. Let's just say I'm the type that prefers to live on the wild side." We set up a time to meet for later that evening and a price was determined. "Wonderful, I look forward to doing business with you later." I shut the phone and noticed we were almost there. "Aizawa-san," I said as he picked up his phone, "Are your men in position?" He confirmed they were and I told him to give the signal before hanging up. Sirens blared in the night air as police car after police car surrounded Kihiko's place of residence and Light and I walked up to one of the vehicles in the back and Matsuda grinned at us before slipping on his own helmet and giving us our own outfits. I slipped the all black ensemble over my clothing and then put the helmet on and I realized I looked just like everyone else. I nodded to Light and he and I approached the door and knocked. The neighbors were all looking out of their windows and doors, beginning to crowd the streets as they obviously wondered what was going on, and I felt claustrophobic and took off my helmet.

Apparently no one thought this was a good idea, but as long as I had my bracelet on I would be safe…or that was the idea, anyway. I said, "Leon…whatever you do don't take off your helmet, alright? Too many officers would recognize you." He nodded and I knocked again, "Police! Open up!" When no one answered I kicked in the door, glad that my people had removed the cameras earlier that day as requested, and I walked into the house, taking off the black outfit. It just hadn't felt right. Light and I made our way upstairs to his room and when I opened it he wasn't in it. But I did see the Shinigami, I just pretended not to.

"Harue Kihiko," Light yelled, "If you keep hiding you will only worsen your sentence. Hiding will only hurt you more. If you come out and come clean we might be able to make you a deal."

And then it happened, the Shinigami looked towards the bed and said, "Don't listen to them, Harue…"

I nodded to Light who headed for the closet and we began our mock search. We both ended at the bed and I bent down, looking under it and not finding anyone there. I knocked on the floor gently and heard a hollow sound and couldn't suppress my grin. "Help me move the bed, Leon…" Together we moved the bed and I saw the faint outline of a hidden door. I pulled at it and inside was Harue Kihiko, shivering and angry. I pulled out my walkie-talkie, which I had set to the local police line, "We've got him. We're bringing him out."

I reached in at the same time Light did and we each grabbed an arm, pulling him out. He was clutching the Death Note like a scared little boy would cling to a security blanket and I took it from him while Light forced his arms behind him. I looked over at the Shinigami who had his own Death Note out and I said, "No!" I lunged for it, the Shinigami was trying to kill Kihiko. Light stopped me and held me back. 'Wh…" and then I got it. If the Shinigami killed Kihiko while I held the Death Note, ownership transferred to me. Besides, the Shinigami was too far away for me to reach in time, anyway. The Shinigami grinned at me and I looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time. He had a skeletal appearance and he carried a scythe, and suddenly I remembered him from Mu…he liked playing cards. Harue dropped to his knees behind me and I heard him dying and I kept a firm hold on the Death Note. I picked up my walkie-talkie again, "Suspect is down," I said, "I repeat…suspect is down. Suspect was a pawn," I added, "Being used by whoever is _really_ Kira." I was fairly certain that the Shinigami grinning at me was a pawn as well…I needed to know who had sent him to this world and why.

I headed out, tucking the Death Note into my back pocket and wondered why I held the real t hing when it should have been at Headquarters; something must have gone wrong. Light followed me out and the Shinigami followed as well, I was fairly certain that was only because he had to follow the Death Note's owner, and that happened to be me. We left the police the crime scene as he and I headed back to Matsuda's car and got into the back, the Shinigami floated in through the roof and sat between Light and I, which wasn't something I liked one bit. I suddenly wished we could have more of those bracelets and leaned forward, "Don't take off your helmet." I then called Aizawa and told him to make everyone at Headquarters wear masks, including our guest in Misa's old apartment. "I don't care what you tell her, tell her the truth if you want, just tell her that her life depends on it." And I hung up the phone.

"You don't seem all that concerned with covering your face…" the Shinigami said and I turned to face him, looking into his eyes.

"It doesn't matter…you can't see my name, anyway." I kept looking at him, trying to read his motives, and finally asked, "Shinigami…why are you here?"

He grinned at me, "To help a human take over the world and rule it."

"Why?" I asked, "Which human?"

"Because those are my orders and because I want to…and whoever owns that Death Note…"

He was answering my questions, that was a good thing, right? "Alright…so Harue failed you? Why did you kill him?"

The Shinigami grinned at me, "Because he had become a liability to The Plan."

The way he said the plan I could practically hear the capitol letters. "I see…whose plan did Harue's potential capture ruin?"

"The Death King has his own agenda, and does not share every detail with me. I am content enough to do his bidding." Finally, something I could use! The Shinigami sounded bitter, annoyed that the Death King hadn't trusted him with his whole plan.

"That angers you…don't you know he's just using you?" I watched carefully for a reaction and I got it as the Shinigami flinched. "He's sending you here, probably promising you reign over the human world, when he plans on killing you the moment you attain anything here so that _he_ can rule here without doing the leg work you've been working so hard at." His silence spoke volumes to me that I was correct, he himself had been thinking along those lines. "The Death King is dead, and now there is only one who forcibly took his place. The Shinigami used to vote and elect a king…what has happened that they now allow one of their own to slay their king and then rule them?"

His eyes widened and he asked, "Wh-what? Slay?" I nodded, watching my meaning sink in. "He…killed the Death King?"

"That's right. Armonia killed the Death King and now rules in his place…I'm surprised the Shinigami are allowing this to happen."

"How is it you know so much, human?" I shrugged and leaned back in my seat, enjoying his discomfort. "Armonia can't be stopped."

"What, so if you can't beat him…join him? Is _that_ what you are saying, _Dellidublly_?" I smiled deviously at the look he was giving me, "Yes…I know your name, Shinigami. What if I told you there was a way to take down Armonia; a way to stop him? He's been making so many unruly changes lately…don't they annoy you? Is that one of the reasons you agreed to this because it allows you unlimited time in the Human World? Panic can have many reactions, and you don't want to die because you weren't _allowed_ into the Human World to take lives and add to your own lifespan…"

"H-how do you know so much?" he repeated and again I shrugged, ignoring his question.

"I know you'd much rather be playing cards with Gook than worrying about your lifespan or whether or not Armonia is going to kill you…isn't that right, Dellidublly?" We pulled into Headquarters and I asked another question. "Are you the only Shinigami Armonia sent into the Human World?"

He gave me a scathing look and said, "No."

* * *

A//N

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My…


	21. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentyOne

**Author's Notes**;;  
**Shannara810**;; -Takes a bow- Why…thank you! :D

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One:

The walk into Headquarters was silent and I watched as Dellidublly noticed everyone in masks. Ryuk was in the middle of the room and I watched the new Shinigami's reaction, "R-Ryuk…what are you doing here? Did you drop your Death Note again?"

The lanky-bodied Shinigami only laughed in response, "Oh, no Dellidublly…I'm here because I'm not too fond of what Armonia's been up to."

"Y-you're helping the humans?" Obviously Dellidublly was too shocked to process this information and he made to take off.

Light lunged at him, grabbing Dellidublly's other Death Note and tearing off the cover before anyone realized what had happened and the Shinigami sank back to the floor, a look of absolute horror on his face. "You're not going anywhere..." Light said, tossing the remains of the Death Note into the trash. "Not when your only Death Note is owned by us." He took the remaining Death Note from me and touched each member of the task force with it so they would be able to see Dellidublly.

"How were you able to see me? That's the first you've touched the Death Note." Alas, it appeared this Shinigami was smarter than we'd given him credit for.

"I don't need to touch a Death Note to see its Shinigami," Light answered smugly and handed it back to me once everyone in the room could see Dellidublly. I pocketed it once more and took a seat, biting my nails out of habit. "Now…Dellidublly, how many Shinigami has Armonia sent into the Human World?"

Ryuk cackled, "I'd tell him if I were you, he's killed a Shinigami before…" Light took off his mask, finally, safe behind the ward of his bracelet and Ryuk added, "It's in your best interest if you'd like to stay alive."

"Three…there are three of us in total. Myself, Shidoh and Meadra." I nodded, trying to remember what they looked like and failing. My memories of my time in Mu were fuzzy, at best, and then Dellidublly was speaking again due to the look of death Light was giving him. "We were all given the same instructions…come to the Human World, find a human and let them find the Death Note. Have them start killing…and we were told to go to Japan because that was where the Kira incident took place when Ryuk dropped his Death Note originally."

Apparently the threat of death was enough to make Dellidublly talk and I was thankful to Ryuk for exploiting this weakness to our benefit and made a note to get him apples later. "Oh…" I said, looking over at Matsuda and pulling him out of the room. "I have an appointment with that troublesome caretaker, could you meet with him and give him this…" I handed him an envelope with cash in it, "and make sure you get all copies of the picture as well as the film and camera he took it on. That was the agreement we'd made." I went back inside while Matsuda got into his regular car, apparently not bothering to question me about it which I was grateful for.

They'd waited for me before resuming their questioning of Dellidublly, which was nice of them, and Light asked, "Do you know where the others are? Do you know if they have even contacted any humans yet?"

"No…we separated when we got here." He was obviously frightened and still wondering who we were that he couldn't read our names and how we knew so much about the Shinigami World. He also probably wondered about Ryuk's words that Light had killed a Shinigami. They were technically true but…

My own thought process cut itself off and I pulled Aizawa out of the room this time. "What happened to Rem's remains?" He told me they'd been sent to some museum and I said, "Get them back…I have use of them." He nodded and headed upstairs to make some calls and, once again, I went back into the room. It was the four of us at that point. Light, myself, Ryuk and Dellidublly. "Alright…" I turned to Light, "It looks like we need to do some more digging to find the others with Death Notes." I turned to Dellidublly, "Since you're stuck with us and I won't destroy this note book in the fear you might run back to Mu and tell Armonia about us, I'm afraid you're going to be under Ryuk's watch. Ryuk," I turned to the ever-smiling apple lover. "Can you handle watching him when he's not hovering behind me? I'd much appreciate if he didn't hover around me all the time. Show him around," I said and pulled Light out of the room by the hand.

"You've had some ideas," he said right away as we reached the elevator and took it to our floor. When we got into our living room he sat on the sofa and pulled me next to him.

"Yes…" I said, "I have. Matsui is out getting that picture and Aihara is collecting the remains of the Shinigami whose demise you wrought." His eyes widened at the use of the old alias' and I said, "We need protection…we need a good defense and a good offense." I took Light's new cell-phone and dialed Mogi, "Moji…when you come back make sure you're wearing a mask. Aside from that, how is your daughter?" He sounded surprised I had asked and told me the party had went well. "Then I will see you tomorrow morning. Just to warn you…our workload has increased. We moved on Kihiko and the Shinigami killed him…there are two more Kira's in Japan that we need to locate…" I hung up and handed Light back his phone before turning to address him once more.

"Sam…" he said and I smiled slightly, "You want to get more bracelets made? And maybe a weapon…" I nodded and laid down on the couch, resting my head in his lap and he spoke once more, running his fingers through my hair. "Two more Kira's…we'll find them. But what should we do about the Shinigami? They aren't really threats on their own, it's Armonia we have to worry about. Dellidublly, Shidoh and Meadra aren't exactly high ranking Shinigami. If we take out Armonia they should go back to their old lifestyle and they can vote for a new king…" He stopped and I shifted so I could look up at him, "What if…Kihiko only killed those three that had the traces of chlorine. It's like he wanted us to find him…to stop him. The others must have killed every other victim so far."

"That would make sense, Leon. Even though we now have that angle to pursue I still feel rather lost." He moved my head gently to the seat as he got up and crossed to the laptop in the room, keying it back to life with a whirring sound and bringing up what we knew of the killings so far.

"Here…so far the killings done by the other two are more along the lines of how I originally worked. This means they've probably figured out that they can manipulate people before death and alter the cause of death as well. I think we need to broaden our search to more than just heart attacks…and I also think that these two might be working together."

I got up and headed back towards him and looked over his shoulder at the monitor. "Why do you think that?"

He put in a search for recent deaths due to accidents and suicides and I noticed there had been an alarming rate of both lately. "Well, I think that answers that question…if they are working together at least one of them has the eyes, we need to be prepared for that eventuality. Let me see…" he did a few more fruitless searches and then, "Ah…Takada Kiyomi…her beliefs, if I recall correctly, match with the things I stood for when I was Kira."

"You dated her." It wasn't a question; I merely said it and knew it to be true. I wasn't jealous because he had never cared for her, but I looked at what he was reading. "Her career has flourished since Kira's return. She's been able to 'predict' where and when people would die and has been using it to advance her career to anchor-woman on NHN."

"Yes…we were so concerned with Kihiko we didn't look for anyone else. I think she has a Death Note, and I think she's working with the other person as well." I nodded and headed back toward the couch, "We should arrange surveillance of her place."

I thought a moment then said, "Such a public figure…it's strange we didn't notice her earlier. We get that station here, do we not?" Light looked at me and nodded, obviously just as confounded as I was. "Why didn't we notice this Takada announcing where and when victims would die?"

"Perhaps," he said, coming back over to the couch, "I mean, I remember seeing the show once but it's not such a reliable station."

"More reliable than Sakura Television…" I mused.

"We've been busy?" he suggested and I leaned against him once more. "We _have_ had a lot on our minds lately; it's no small wonder if we've been a bit distracted. Nobody is perfect, Sam, and hey…we finally noticed which means we can do something about it."

I nodded and pulled him towards the bed, "I think we'll deal with this tomorrow…we'll set up cameras at Takada's place while she's at work, and we'll tap into her phone conversations." I smiled as I sat on the edge of the bed, "But right now I think I'd rather take you up on your previous offer…it still hurts."

When I woke up the next morning I was fairly certain I was _sorer_ than when I'd gone to bed, but rough sex tended to do that to the body and I got up slowly. I noticed Light was already up and he was on the computer with the sound off, running past shows of Takada's on the computer and obviously trying to get a feel for her. "Hey…" I said, kissing his cheek. "Learn anything useful?"

He leaned back and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, my hands draped lazily across his chest. "She's extremely confident these past few months, but before then whenever she had to go on the air she was an utter ball of nerves. But her Kira killing predictions have skyrocketed both her ratings and her confidence…but I think her confidence comes from that fact that _she's_ the one killing these people."

"Good…" I said, "Nice work. Now let's go shower and get some food." He followed me to the bathroom and halfway through the shower I was out again and over the toilet. "Make…it…stop…" I said, eyes stinging with tears from vomiting as he held my hair out of the way. "I shivered and turned into his embrace, "I want it to go away…this whole morning sickness thing."

"I know," he said in a hushed voice, rocking me gently. He placed a kiss on my forehead and I eventually stopped shivering. "It'll go away eventually, right? I mean…it doesn't last the whole nine months."

"No…it doesn't. It _will_ go away," I replied and gave a light smile. "It's just the waiting for it to go away that's the annoying part."

He laughed and helped me to stand once more, pulling me back toward the shower as he flushed the toilet. "I'm just glad we've got a hotel standard plumbing system." I rolled my eyes and we headed out of the bathroom twenty minutes later. "Do you think we could visit my mom and Sayu-chan again today?"

"Sure," I said, feeling slightly uneasy mostly because I wasn't sure if I was ready to have that 'family' feeling again. It wasn't something I was accustomed to and I wasn't sure I would ever really feel comfortable with them, and I really wanted to. "Do you want to call first or should we just surprise them?"

"Let's surprise them and head over for lunch." I nodded before leading the way downstairs after we'd gotten dressed. Everyone was, once again, wearing masks and the two Shinigami were down there as well. Matsuda came over to me and handed me an envelope that had the film, camera and pictures of Light and I at the graveyard and I thanked him before sitting in front of my computer. "Sam," I heard from my right and looked at Light, "Who do you want on camera duty?"

"We'll ask Mello and Matt, they will make fast work of it with the least amount of cameras." The others gave us curious looks which I could see through their eyes. They were wearing clown masks, their eyes were visible through the small holes but the rest of their faces were obscured, but there were two small holes beneath the nose and one where the mouth was for the sake of breathing.

I called Matt, trusting that he would tell Mello, and told him about the task and texted him the address to Takada's place and he said he'd do it while he was more awake. I didn't bother saying good-bye or apologizing for waking him, I just hung up and let him get back to sleep. I wasn't a fan of certain people when they didn't get enough sleep, and Matt was one of them, and Mello was another. Matt just got cranky, but Mello was hyper and wouldn't shut up. A third person I didn't like without enough sleep was Light, because it seemed to dull his abilities. Finally I got up and said, "Leon…let's go up and see the doctor…" He nodded and together we made our way up to that floor.

When she opened the door she looked surprised to see us, but our view of her was limited considering the mask over her features. "Ryuuzaki…Leon, I'm glad you came I've been meaning to ask you…" she gestured to the mask, "Is this really necessary?"

"I'm afraid so…it's a matter of your safety; believe me when I say that you must wear it all the time." She led us further into the room and I added, "The reason he and I aren't wearing them is because we have other safety precautions. Kira kills because, when he looks at a person, he can see their name above their heads but he has to be able to see their face. Hence the masks. Leon and I have other protections against this, but they are very difficult to come by." I turned to Light, "I'll have to ask Aihara how his venture went concerning that."

We passed the time with meaningless small talk and I informed her we would be leaving for dinner around six-thirty and, with any luck, we would be able to take off the masks at least for a little while then. She asked if I would come back for more ultrasounds and I told her the next day would be better and she didn't argue. Finally, we were in the car with Mogi and he was driving Light and I to his mother's house once more. Ryuk was keeping an eye on Dellidublly, but I was making sure Aizawa kept an eye on both of them just in case. Near, too, was watching them always from the control rooml.

We pulled up and I told Mogi to come and pick us up around five, that way we would have plenty of time for Light to spend with his family, and he left as we approached the door. I knocked lightly and when the door swung open Mrs. Yagami smiled warmly at us. "Well, isn't this another nice surprise! Come on in, you're just in time for lunch." Of course we were, we'd timed it that way, but I didn't say that. I wondered briefly at her term of 'another' before I found out what she was talking about. Sayu was sitting at the kitchen table and someone else was sitting and chatting with her. The blonde turned her head to view the newcomers and both Light and I froze as her eyes widened and then she screamed at the top of her lungs and threw herself at Light.

* * *

A//N

Hmmmmm

I've noticed how much longer Tainted Starlight is getting compared to Twisted Midnight.


	22. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentyTwo

**Author's Notes**;;

**Freakitten**;; HIII. Hmmm, well if you look at TM my writing style is very rushed, there. -shrugs- I rush for things that aren't necessarily important when it comes to either plot or story development, or things that I don't feel like writing out. Like in the graveyard you didn't really _need_ to read their entire conversation and _all_ their ideas, so I rushed. :)  
**Shannara810**;; Takada is understandable, even a good choice all things considered, but Misa forced the relationship on Light.  
**UnratedcrimsonBlood**;; I WANT A CHOCOBO!!!! It would be useful…I hear they are faster than horses!

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Light was glaring at his mother as he tried to pry Misa off of him and I just watched, slightly amused. His eyes turned to me, "A little…help here?" I shrugged and took the empty seat next to Sayu and joined her in being a spectator. "Thanks a lot," he said and finally managed to hold her at arm's length. "Misa-chan…" he said and she looked at him, obviously trying to cling to him once more and he said, "Stop…just stop, alright?" She pouted and stood still, "Aren't you even curious as to why I'm here?"

"Of course I am! But we have all the time in the world to talk about it now that you're with Misa again!" And she threw her arms around his stomach and pulled him into a big hug and he winced in pain, cursing under his breath. "Language! That isn't very nice, Light."

"Sorry, Misa-chan…I hurt my back so…please don't do that. Also, I…well, I'm not with you anymore…so please stop saying that." Her face fell and she took a step away, "I'm sorry but-"

"No…of _course_ you're with Misa because we were going out and you're still Misa's boyfriend therefore you're with Misa." She sounded so sure of herself I almost felt sorry for her. "When I heard you were dead I tried to kill myself so I could be with you again, Light! But they wouldn't let me…"

"Misa-chan…" he said, pulling her into another room and I got up so I could follow. I wanted to hear what he was going to say, I was hoping he wouldn't give in to her again. Suddenly the thought of him being with Misa again wasn't amusing. In fact, it bothered me…a lot. Jealousy reared its ugly head as I went into the room they were in and stood behind the chair Light was sitting in. Misa was in the chair across from him and she was looking at me a bit oddly.

"Why is _he_ here? I don't see you chained to him anymore, so how come the pervert has to butt into our conversations all the time?" She was whining, and I was getting more and more annoyed. I placed my hands on his shoulders and she said, "What are you doing! Wait…" her eyes looked to my right wrist and then to Light's left, "Wh-why are you two wearing the same bracelet? Is this another of the pervert's ideas?" For a long minute no one said anything as Light obviously tried to find the words that would do the least amount of damage, but she seemed to be drawing her own conclusions. "Do they act like an invisible chain? Do you think he's Kira again? Is _that_ why you're like that?"

I smiled viciously and moved to stand next to the chair Light was in and noticed he was about to speak, once more trying to put it delicately to her, and in a quick motion I bent down and slipped my tongue into his open mouth as my lips met his. It didn't take long before he was kissing me back, pulling me towards him until I was straddling him on the chair and I heard another one of Misa's ear-piercing screams from behind me. Light broke the kiss, glaring at me a moment before his expression softened, and I smiled pleasantly in return before I felt Misa's hands trying to pull me off of 'her' boyfriend. "Get off of him, you pervert!"

"Misa, shut up!" It was Light's voice and she stopped and I _did_ get off of him, and I sat on the floor and looked at the blonde girl. Tears streamed down her cheeks and Light stood up, "I'm sorry, Misa…" and he looked at me, "Ryuuzaki, I think your display was a bit unnecessary, even if it was effective." He looked at Misa once more, "You know I never loved you…"

She took a step away from him and shook her head, "But I've always loved you…" She fell back into the chair she'd been sitting in earlier and said, "We're perfect together."

"No, Misa…we're not." Light sat back down as well and ran a hand through that perfect hair, messing it up slightly in a way that made me want to touch it but I kept my hands to myself.

Again, silence took over the room and I watched Sayu and Mrs. Yagami leaving the room. They had been drawn in by Misa's scream, but now that things seemed under 'control' once more they were going to leave us be. "So…" the blonde's voice was timid as she finally found her voice, "Are you…gay?" She'd winced as she'd said that last word that had completed her question, but continued to look at Light for an answer, hoping he was going to deny her accusation.

"Yes, Misa…" Light's gaze never left hers, but his eyes were serious as if trying to convince her of this. "I…I'm sorry that you had to find out like this," and once again he glared at me. I merely shrugged and smiled pleasantly at him. He sighed and looked at Misa once again, "I'm with Ryuuzaki now."

"Now?" she asked, her voice a bit higher-pitched with clear incredulity. "Now?" she repeated, and I could practically see the flames in her eyes dictating that she was angry as she sprung to her feet. "I always thought you two were so strange with the way you'd always look at each other, the way you'd ignore my existence so you two could debate…" She turned her gaze to me, "And you, with that chain! This…I blame you! He would have fallen in love with me eventually if you hadn't chained him to you; if you hadn't made yourself the _only_ person around him _all_ the time!" She took a step closer to me and I stood as well, taking a step away from her out of surprise. She turned to Light again and flung her arms around his neck, tears flowing once again, "Please…give me another chance…I'll remind you that you love me more."

"Misa, I never…loved you." Light pried her off of him and made her sit down in the chair that had been his, and she broke down completely. "And me being gay is _not_ his fault…" She looked up at Light like she didn't want to believe him, "It's just the way I am, Misa. It wasn't something I chose, but I _am_ happy."

"With…" she sobbed, wrapping her arms around her torso and shaking slightly, "With him…n-not w-with meee." She blinked and stared at me, "He's not even attractive…" I bit my tongue and moved closer to Light, knowing that if I said anything I'd most likely make matters worse. I was not good in social situations, it was a fact, and I was OK with that. I had also come to terms that I didn't think I was all that attractive, either, but Light seemed to like me well enough and his opinion was the only one that mattered. "It's n-not fair! I l-love you."

Light looked over at the door and I noticed Sayu watching us all from the frame and he begged her with his eyes to help him. His sister nodded and came into the room, wrapping her arms around Misa gently and I heard her say, "Come on…we'll go upstairs…we'll have some girl-time upstairs…" Misa only nodded but didn't seem willing to move. Finally, Sayu managed to get her out of the room and towards the stairs and I let myself relax, and I followed Light into the kitchen.

"A little bit of a warning would have been nice, Mom." Mrs. Yagami looked at her son, clearly perturbed by what had happened in the last few minutes, "I mean…really! You had to know what was going to happen." He took a seat at the table, tense and annoyed, and I put a hand on his shoulder as I sat next to him. Slowly, he began to relax, and Mrs. Yagami sat across from him.

"Light…I'm sorry; I hoped we could all just get along once more. I knew what it would mean to her to see you were alive, but I thought she would have gotten over you by now." Mrs. Yagami looked at both of us apologetically, "I wasn't thinking in terms of what could go wrong, I was just glad you were here." She cleared her throat, "It's difficult…you being back. It's not something that's easy to adjust to. It took a long time to accept that you were gone, and then when Sayu….when your sister kept claiming you were alive; it hit me all over again. The hope that maybe you really _were_ alive somewhere and couldn't see me for some odd reason, well, it made me wonder. And then after about two months you show up at my doorstep. You don't look any different, Light…sometimes I fall back into old habits…but mostly I'm at a loss." Her gaze flicked to me and I met it, a bit wary, "Everything's different now, too." She looked at her son again, "I love you, Light…and no matter what, I'd give anything to keep you here with me. It doesn't matter who you like, because the thought of you walking out that door forever because I said or did something to drive you away scares me. I just got you back." She smiled sadly and added, "When you have children, you'll understand." She stood up again, "Misa-chan is one of Sayu's friends. They became quite good friends while you two were dating and while they were both in that institution, they often found solidarity in each other's company. Misa-chan doesn't have any other friends…I truly feel bad for her. She's been so worried about her career since she got out."

"Her career will be fine," I said, knowing it was true. "More than fine, better than ever; scandal often has that effect on the famous." I looked at Light seriously as well, "And eventually she'll get over this…I'm just hoping she doesn't gab about it to everyone she sees over the next few weeks." I heard noise coming from the direction of the stairs and Light and I turned at the same time Misa stormed into the room. Her hand came up and struck Light across the cheek, and then she turned it to me and I felt the sting of the slap. Normally, if someone hit me, I retaliated. Given the circumstances of how I'd 'stolen' her 'boyfriend,' I didn't think it appropriate.

"You led me on! You made me think I had a chance with you, and all the time you were _gay_! I have nothing against gay people. A lot of my friends are gay, actually, but what you did was wrong!" She was angry and apparently not quite finished, "You pig-headed, arrogant, selfish _man_!"

He grabbed her by her shoulders, "Misa…you are the one who came over here and decided to force me to be your boyfriend by threat of my life. If you think that is right, then I think you need to go back to the mental institution!" He shook her and she looked like she was about to cry again, and then he let her go. "You told me to do what I wanted, you told me to use you…you didn't care as long as I gave you a chance to get me to love you. You said you didn't want me dating other girls…I stopped that. Love isn't something you can force from somebody…you have to earn it and get to know each other. You can't just show up on a stranger's doorstep, not knowing anything about them except for their name and that you may admire them, and then expect them to love you! In fact, you were never in love with me…at least not at first. Infatuation…you were infatuated with who you thought I was and the idea of us together. You wanted to be with someone and you decided _I_ was that someone. It didn't matter to you how I felt, you proved that to me." He paused and took a breath, "You don't just wake up one day and decide to fell in love with a stranger. Love at first sight…is a fairy-tale."

"B-but…you…kissed me. You held me and kissed me." She was pouting and fell to her knees on the floor, obviously feeling dejected and defeated.

"You were infatuated with me, Misa. You said you didn't care how I treated you. I didn't feel anything for you, but I tried." He slid to his knees, joining her on the floor, and I let him as I brought my own feet up onto the seat. "I'm sorry if things didn't turn out according to your plan…but you're just honestly not my type."

"And…he…he is? If you're lying to me, if you're pretending to be with him just to get rid of me…or to dump me…I'll never forgive you! I can accept that you are gay, but if you wind up with some other woman that is something I will never let you get away with." He shivered and she added, "I always thought there was something weird about the two of you."

"Misa…" Light said once more. "What I have with Ryuuzaki is not a joke. I'm not lying to you; I wouldn't do something like _that_ to 'get rid of you.'"

I stood up, stretching a bit and leaning against the wall, feeling uncomfortable and wanting this over already. I also wanted to prove to Misa just how real my relationship with Light really was. Her eyes widened as I finished stretching again and she pointed, "The pervert is getting fat! All those sweets finally catching up with him!" She grinned happily like she'd proven a point and I froze, looking at Light carefully.

Fat? Me? I did not get fat and I wasn't sure I was going to let my pride allow that kind of insult, but Light beat me to the correction. "Misa…Ryuuzaki isn't fat."

"Oh, you _would_ say that! He was always underweight, claiming that using his _brain_ burned the calories!" She stood and walked over to me and I stayed how I was, leaning against the wall. Whatever she had planned I was sure I could handle, from slapping me to any other form of physical harm she wished to do to me, but she just lifted the hem of my shirt and pointed to my stomach. "Look! See! He's getting fat! Maybe when he's really fat you'll miss your Misa!"

I shoved her, then, and she fell onto her bum near where she'd originally been kneeling. "I. Am. Not. Fat." True, I had gained weight recently, but that was because of the pregnancy, right? My stomach was bulging because of the twins. Or was it more? Was some of it fat? I looked at Light and hated the sudden insecurity I felt, "Right? I'm not fat…am I?

He stood and crossed over to me, taking my hand in his. "No…of course not." This was almost too much for Misa and she stood up once more, going to the door between the living room and the kitchen where Sayu was standing. She looked like she was about to say something when Light turned to her once more, "He's not fat…he's just pregnant."

Her eyes widened and she said, "What…how…I mean, ohmygod…nevermind I think I know how but…oh my god." She glared resentfully at Light, "You…him…you never…you wouldn't with me…" I wasn't sure what she thought she knew in regards to how other than she'd managed to wrap her mind around the fact that Light and I had had sexual intercourse. I wasn't too concerned with her image of me, as long as nobody thought I was getting 'fat.' For some reason that just bothered me. She turned her eyes to me again, "I really hate you now. I mean, I didn't like you before, but now…" she gave up on words, apparently they failed to describe just how deep her loathing for me ran and I put myself in her shoes. I looked at Light and wondered how I would feel if he, the love of my life, told me he'd knocked Misa up and I flinched. I decided it would feel…terrible. She turned and headed back upstairs without another word, Sayu glaring at Light as she silently followed her blonde friend.

* * *

A//N

Poor Misa…


	23. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentyThree

**Author's Notes**;;

**misswarchan**;; Yes, I agree. :-P  
**Yuka-Chan16**;; Hopefully you'll find this chapter amusing as well. :D Annnd Katsu isn't until Feb. sadly.  
**Freakitten**;; L definitely has a mean side, and he gets _very_ possessive over things that are 'his.'  
**Shannara810**;; Oh, yes, L is definitely the 'master' in the relationship despite being Uke.  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Pffft Sephi is so much cooler than Cloud. o.o

****Mature Content Warning****

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Lunch was an uncomfortable affair. Every once in a while we would hear Misa crying from upstairs, and Mrs. Yagami brought up a tray of food and sweets for them, and then it was finally time to leave. I felt drained mentally, physically and emotionally and when we got back to Headquarters I barely managed to get work done. I watched the monitors long enough to confirm Takada had a notebook and a Shinigami and said we would move the next day in much the same fashion as we had against Kihiko. We still had a fake notebook we could attempt to switch out, since that plan against Kihiko had failed, but I wasn't sure we would need it against Takada. If we had to resort to it, I wanted to wait until I knew who the third person was.

By the time most of us were on our way out to dinner, Matt, Mello and Near had opted to order in, I was fairly convinced that Takada didn't have the eyes. If Light's theories were correct, that meant our mystery Kira did. "Sam…" he said and I looked over at him. "I think we should wait longer before moving against Takada."

"No! Absolutely not!" I looked over at the new voice, Aizawa, and he continued. "We can't just let her keep killing people! We have to stop her as soon as possible."

"Aihara-san," I said carefully. "Leon and I believe that Takada-san is working with the third Kira. If this is true, then in the coming days she might give something away that will tell us that person's identity. Catching _both_ of them is more important than catching her quickly just to say we could." I thought a moment, "Besides…what if her Shinigami kills her before we can do anything about it? No, I think Leon is correct. We will wait for some evidence as to the last Kira before we make our move on Takada-san."

He looked slightly outraged, "I said I wouldn't tolerate any of your cruel measures, Ryuuzaki. We need to find middle-ground, a compromise. Also, what if she doesn't slip up?"

"Then we will move. We will give it two weeks, if she does not reveal to us the identity of the other Kira, then we shall make the arrest. Leon and I will attempt to deal with the Shinigami before it can take her life." I offered a half-hearted smile, "There is your compromise, Aihara-san. Take it or leave it."

"You're a bastard…we can't let her keep killing people." He watched my face for a reaction that never came, "And we can't give her a fake notebook because if the deaths of the criminals she decides to punish live don't actually occur then she will know something is wrong."

"That is a correct assumption, Aihara-san. Congratulations." He was angrier at this point, but I didn't really care. I then looked at everyone, "Who here knows English? I feel bad for keeping the nice doctor out of our conversation?" Mogi pulled the car over to the side of the road, it seemed we were finally at the restaurant, and we began filing out. It turned out everyone knew enough English to get by, some better than others, we just couldn't let the conversation pass them by too swiftly. I made the switch to English, "Very well. My apologies, doctor," and then I looked around. Ryuk was, once again, watching over Dellidublly. For apples, it seemed Ryuk was willing to play babysitter, and I had bought plenty of those recently. "You may all take off your masks. I believe we are safe here. However," they all looked at me, "Keep them near just in case."

One by one they took off their masks. Sandra slipped hers into her purse while Mogi put his in a briefcase. Aizawa did the same and Matsuda put his in his pocket. We all walked into the restaurant and I realized with a jolt it was already August. When our appetizers had been served I glanced at Light, he was engaged in conversation with Sandra and he hadn't yet molested me. I'd almost come to expect those hands on me when we were in public that I found myself wanting it. I shifted my seat slightly closer to his, despite that our seats were already close, and I noticed him smile. He knew _exactly_ what I wanted and he placed one hand on my thigh as if to tell me patience was a virtue.

I didn't want to be patient as I slid my seat closer to the table this time and took a dumpling. His hand slipped between my legs and was suddenly where I'd wanted it all along. The motion took me by surprise and the food slipped from between the chop sticks and landed back on the platter. I picked it up again carefully and dipped it in soy sauce that I had added sugar to and stuck it in my mouth to stifle the moan that wanted to get out of it. Damn that boy, he'd made me ask for it…I was going to make him pay for that. I wasn't sure how, exactly, but I had one idea. "Excuse me…" I said and I stood up, my shirt covering the bulge in my pants and I headed towards the restroom. I placed some money into our waiter's pocket and hid behind the clothed part of the cart that was being wheeled around the room with various people's meals on it, including ours. When it stopped at our table I slipped beneath it and was glad the table was large.

I was kneeling beneath the table in front of Light's legs and I let my hands trail slowly up his calves and over his inner thighs. Something dropped and I noticed it fall slightly beneath the cloth. It was a fork, and his hand found it quickly as he must have bent to retrieve it. He lifted the table cloth and his eyes widened when he saw me there. I put a finger to my lips and noticed his face flush in an adorable way before he sat back up, having to face the other occupants of the table once more. This was a game we played, and I was determined to make him lose his composure.

My hand trailed up further and I undid the clasp of his belt as well as the button before lowering the zipper slowly. He shifted so he was slouching more in his seat, allowing me better access to him, and I rewarded him by slipping my hand inside his boxers and stroking his length, my long fingers wrapping around him. It didn't take long for him to harden and I freed his shaft from its confines. He was exposed, if he had to stand up it would be quite amusing, but I was betting he had his napkin ready in case that had to happen. He shifted in his seat so he was sitting more on the edge and I licked at the head, my tongue darting over the slit in the top and I heard him gasp. I knew there was a reason I tended to take seats where my back was positioned against a wall if I had the option. It forced Light to do the same if he wanted to sit next to me, which was definitely useful in these situations.

Then I gave myself to the task, licking and sucking at him. He didn't make much noise, and what I would have given to be able to see his face, but he did squirm once in a while and the noises he _did_ make were amusing, to say the least. One person asked him what was wrong, and Aizawa asked where I was. Matsuda reminded him of my usual bathroom troubles and for once I was grateful for the morning sickness; it had provided me with a suitable excuse not to be at the table. It seemed Light had a harder time understanding English with me beneath the table, sucking him off, and he had to ask Sandra to repeat a few things. I hummed very softly and his hips bucked up, it was a jerky movement that most likely got noticed by the others, and I kept it up.

Finally, when I felt he was about to finish, I pulled away. Initially I had wanted to make him cum at the table, but instead I left him like that and carefully slipped him back inside his pants and redid the zipper, button and belt. The next time the tray came by I slipped back into it and, slipping the waiter a bit more money, I managed to actually head into the bathroom. It wasn't long before Light was in there with me and I pulled him into a stall. "Coming to check on me? How thoughtful…" I stuck my thumb in my mouth and sucked on it a bit, letting my tongue run over it and he pushed me against the wall. When we came back to the table we were both composed enough, but I could tell they were all wondering what had taken so long. Then again, considering my usual fight I had with my own stomach most days, perhaps they weren't. I looked down at the vegetable rolls in front of me and dipped one in the sweetened soy sauce and popped it in my mouth, a lot hungrier than I'd been earlier.

Sandra's next words caught me unawares, "Ryuuzaki," she said and I looked at her, "If you aren't taking vitamins, then I suggest you start. Your eating habits aren't the best," there was a lot of snickering around the table at this and I pouted, "From what I've seen, anyway, but those you are carrying need the nutrition. You should get a pack of multi-vitamins with extra calcium."

Vitamins. I'd never taken vitamins in my life. I'd never needed to take vitamins, and I wasn't sure I'd remember to. Matsuda, who had been the only one aside from Light who hadn't laughed when Sandra had made her remark on my eating habits, said, "I can pick them up tomorrow on my way in."

I nodded, "Thank you, Matsuda-san." I went back to eating and pushed away the sugared soy sauce and opted for regular instead, the doctor's words and the other's laughter in my head as a reminder I wasn't just eating for myself. Was that really all they saw, my bad eating habits? Was it a joke of some sort? I had never cared for the opinions of others before, so why did this suddenly bother me? Because, I realized, in the past no one would have ever dared laugh at my eating habits.

I didn't much like the regular soy sauce, and I was surprised when Light pushed the small rectangular dish of sugared sauce back in my direction. "A bit of sugar won't hurt them." I smiled and happily went back to eating with the sugar one and he whispered, "A spoonful of sugar helped the medicine go down…" I stared blankly at him, completely lost, and he ruffled my hair, "You're hopeless…but I love you." I felt a blush stain my cheeks. This was obviously another pop-culture reference I hadn't gotten and I realized that he'd said he loved me in front of the others. I was aware he'd never done that before and I felt unexpectedly…warm inside.

"I love you, too," I replied, aware of the others watching us. Matsuda, the romantic that he was, looked a bit misty-eyed but happy for us. Aizawa looked like he was about to have some kind of fit, Mogi just sat there, actually not watching us, and continued to eat his food while Sandra looked like she was watching a good romantic comedy. Again, I didn't see how we were amusing as a couple, but I wasn't on the outside looking in. I much preferred my seat and viewpoint on the matter considering I got to be the one Light had said those words to. I took his hand in mine beneath the table, content just to let it be, and I avoided looking at any of the others until we were all ready to leave.

Everyone slid their masks back into place when we got into the car and I let my head rest on Light's shoulder, my eyes drooping noticeably and almost everyone looked shocked. I was exhausted, damn pregnancy, and damn emotionally and physically draining activities. I was asleep before we pulled into the Headquarters underground parking garage and when I woke up next Light was stripping me and placing me in bed. I watched long enough to see him take off his own clothes before he joined me in the bed and I let sleep begin to take me once more, curling around him, my head resting on his chest as I did so and I said in a light voice, "From the display in the restroom stall, Light-kun, I'd say your back is feeling much better."

He chuckled and it made me smile, "Yes, it's definitely getting there. Now shhh, get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." I blinked, trying to recall why the next day was a big day, but nothing came to mind aside from monitoring Takada and looking for the last Kira. I began to ask him but he kissed me, "Sleep. You'll understand tomorrow."

I nodded but suddenly couldn't sleep. I was tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. Eventually he did, and as he began to snore I felt myself falling. His snores had that effect, even if I didn't start out tired, I liked sleeping next to him and when he snored it had almost a trained reaction. If I hadn't been so tired I would have laughed, it was Pavlov's Bell all over again, only I tended to sleep at the sound of his snores. I wasn't complaining, sleep was a good thing, as he often reminded me. The next time I opened my eyes the sun was peaking through the curtains and I stretched slowly, which woke my lover. He smiled at me and said his usual greeting, "Hi." I smiled back and kissed him before replying in kind. Ever since that first morning after we'd made love, 'hi' had become a sort of private joke. Since neither of us could find any appropriate greeting for each other first thing in the morning, 'hi' was what had come out. It had been slightly awkward that first morning, but it had also felt right, and now it was practically our tradition.

* * *

A//N

Yeah yeah…all together now: AAAWWWWEEEEE!!!!!!

I know you want to.


	24. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentyFour

**Author's Notes**;;

{{Second to last chapter warning, I think. ;)

No...really. Second to last chapter. You've been warned.}}

**Ignore the above...I've just realized I can't end it where I originally planned to, so there will be a few more chapters other than the next one. But the number will be less than five. REALLY.** Forgive me, I'm indecisive.

**Freakitten**;; No, no they really _can't_ get enough of it…that seems to be their problem because they've turned it into a bit of a game, now.  
**Crescendoll**;; Yay! You're back! And believe me, I understand net problems. And they are pretty much using the meaningless 'domo' every morning. LOL.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four:

"What am I going to be understanding today?" I asked, my eyes wide as we showered and he ignored me. I asked him again while we were getting dressed and he ignored me. I was getting fairly tired of getting ignored and headed downstairs. When I was halfway to the main room, Light right behind me, his cell phone rang and he answered it.

"Moshi Moshi? Uh, yes…Matsuda-san. Thank you, please instruct him to wait in the car, we will meet with him and take him for breakfast. Yes…thank you." I didn't like only being able to hear his side of the conversation and I turned, wondering what was going on. He just smiled at me, "You'll understand soon." He took my hand, "You have to trust me."

I bit my lip, looking away. Trust was something that was a huge deal to me and he knew that. But I _did_ trust him, I trusted him with my life, but I wasn't one for surprises unless I knew it would be something good. Yes, I was more than alright with surprises being 'ruined.' "Please tell me?" I pouted and he just laughed and walked ahead of me. I followed him out into the main lobby and onto the sidewalk with half a mind not to go where he wanted me to go, but I was too curious. "You…you…you're mean!"

He stopped and looked at me, one eyebrow raised as if amused. "You know…you should at least wait until you know what is going on before making accusations like that."

"But you're making me wait! I want to know _now_!" I stomped my foot and refused to take another step, not caring if I was causing a bit of a scene.

He walked back toward me and put a hand on each of my shoulders. "Sam…please. Just this once…let me surprise you." He turned to go and I stayed where I was, wondering if I should follow but I didn't. I was stubborn and I could be a pain if I wanted to be and while he already knew this, he apparently needed reminding of it. "Fine! Forget this whole thing!" He stopped walking and I approached him cautiously and he pulled out his cell phone, flipped it open and pushed a button. "Matsuda-san…please call him back and tell him I need to cancel the appointment. Yes, I know he rarely agrees to appointments that he has to travel for…Yes, I'm aware, Matsuda-san…_thank you_." He seemed to be getting slightly angry and now I was very, very curious. "No…yes, I'm serious. Tell him it's canceled. I don't care, make something up!" There was a long pause, "Because Ryuuzaki doesn't want to."

I grabbed the phone and said, "That's not true he won't tell me where we're going!" And then I realized he hadn't been speaking to anyone. I glared at him as he seized the opportunity to pick me up and carry me to wherever we were going and I groaned, feeling like I'd been duped. He just grinned smugly at me and, when we got to the car around the corner, he put me down, opened the door and pushed me in. I looked around and realized that I wasn't alone. Mogi was in the driver's seat and next to me in the back there was an elderly looking priest. The priest appeared to be split race, half Caucasian of some sort and the other Japanese. Light slid in on the other side of me and the car started as he closed the door and I wondered, again, what the hell was going on. But I wouldn't say anything, that would only make me look ignorant in front of Mogi and the priest, and that wasn't something I would ever willingly admit to…even if it _were_ true.

"Father Lucent," Light said, leaning over me and shaking his hand. "I'm the one you spoke to over the phone. Thank you for coming out on such short notice." Light leaned back but kept his gaze on the priest, Lucent, "I understand you're one of the few who are willing to not only perform non-denominational marriages but also same gender…" and then I understood. I turned and flung my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek and not caring how it must look as I was practically sitting in his lap and he laughed. "Still think I'm mean?"

I hit him on the shoulder lightly and said, "Yes," as I slid back into my seat. But I wasn't mad at him anymore; to the contrary I couldn't stop smiling. I suddenly liked the priest a whole lot better than I had initially.

We pulled into the same café Light had taken me to after our tennis match. It felt like so long ago when we had been on that court, and I squeezed his hand before we slid out of the car. Half an hour later I was still smiling despite the fact that I would need to wrestle up some sort of actual identification. I also wanted to talk to him about my name. I wanted to take his name but, if I was changing my name, I might as well go all the way. I wanted to drop the letter. While alone I had liked the thrill of my actual name being my alias, my anonymity not actually keeping me as anonymous as people assumed, but I was past that part of my life. If I was going to change my name I might as well wind up happy with the result, and I didn't want to use an alias for the marriage. If we used alias' then the marriage wasn't real. Sam Wright could marry Leon Killingsworth, but it wouldn't matter because those people had never existed.

The priest suggested picking a location before the date as it's harder for a venue to work around a person's schedule than it is for a person to work around a venue's schedule. When we were back at Headquarters we watched Takada again, but she didn't make any movements that were unusual…nor did she give us any clues. I started taking vitamins, but nothing other than that happened and the rest of the week was a blur of monitors and searching for a place for the wedding. It got to the point where I wasn't sure I _cared_ where we got married as long as we did, but he assured me that if we got married 'in any old place' I would probably be annoyed at that fact later in life. Since I was socially inept, I let him handle it from then on.

Three days left before we had to make a move on Takada no matter what, that had been my deal with Aizawa, but I was convinced she would give us something…anything. And then she did, she received a phone call and since we'd tapped all her phones we listened in. "Tomorrow, meet me in the usual place." And then the phone call was over, just like that. It was suspicious and hadn't left us enough time to trace it. I wondered the chances of that being the other Kira. The voice had been male and relatively young; it could have been some sort of fan or stalker? Maybe even a boyfriend? No…the chances of it being the other Kira were, as I said to the others, 'eight percent.' That translated to ninety-eight point five percent in my head. All that was left for us to do…was wait.

My stomach had grown to the point where I was glad my pants rode on my hips rather than my waist and my shirt was feeling a bit on the snug side. I was beginning to swell up, as I got closer to my third month, which was expected considering I was carrying twins and I had pretty much been skin and bones before the pregnancy. I was going to have to buy bigger clothing soon, preferably of the stretchy material, but I'd cross that bridge when I got there wondering how many sizes I'd go through and if I should just buy a lot of sizes in advance so I wouldn't need to repeat the process. But clothes were pushed from my mind as Light got behind the wheel of the car, myself sitting beside him and we followed Matsuda's directions to wherever Takada was going. We wouldn't follow _her_, that would give us away, and since this was an undercover operation and no one could see our names, we felt a bit safer.

I caught her room number and inquired at the front desk about the room next to it, the one that had an adjoining door, and said I had OCD about having a certain room number and _needing_ to be on a certain floor. They gave me the room and Light and I walked towards it, going up a set of stairs since it was only on the second floor and I noticed Takada was only getting to her room at the same time. I watched as she slipped into the room she was in before we rounded the corner and I slid our own card key home and we went in. I slipped two extra-sensitive microphones under the door and a camera as well before positioning myself at the keyhole and trying to see if I could see them or not. I could, they were seated at a table with two chairs on it, and I moved back down and adjusted the technology I'd brought. I nodded to Light who plugged headphones into the computer before turning it on and an image of them appeared on the monitor. I grabbed a second set of headphones and slid the connector into the computer as well and listened to what they were saying.

"Mikami Teru…" Light said, "He was always a big supporter of Kira." I nodded, recognizing him as well, and I saw two Shinigami enter the room; Meadra and Gook, apparently. I recognized Gook as the lanky, furry one with horns from my faulty memories and assumed Meadra was the giant, slug-like one.

Meadra scowled and said, "It appears that you two will not be able to join up with the third with a Death Note." They gave her blank looks and waited for her to explain, and Gook just slumped, looking dejected. "He was caught by the police…I'm sure you recall the television broadcast? Well, apparently that was the real deal."

Mikami stood then, "I thought you said it would be next to impossible for us to get caught!" He looked angry, "I also thought you said that you weren't positive that was really the third person with a notebook."

Gook spoke then, "Honestly, we weren't sure, but we were monitoring the deaths that you two hadn't caused and they have ceased completely. Also…we have reason to believe that the third note book is in police custody."

Takada looked around the room, "We cannot help that, if Kihiko _was_ the third with a note book, he was a complete idiot. Mikami, you must yourself recall our own curiosity as to the identities of the few he _did_ kill. No, we're better off without him."

I'd heard enough, my finger hovered over the button that would summon the police back-up Aizawa had prepared but I didn't touch it as I turned to Light. "We need a way to get the notebooks from the Shinigami. They won't be able to see my name or my lifespan; I don't think I should be the one to go in there, though." My hand went to my stomach out of habit, "They need to be sufficiently distracted as well." I met Light's eyes and we had the same idea before I looked away. "No…" I said, "I don't want you to."

"Better me than you," he said and then his arms were around me as the headphones lay discarded on the desk. "Besides, I'm the best person suited for this and you know it."

"I changed my mind…" he looked at me oddly, "I don't want to take your name." He blinked at me, confused, and I watched as he looked for the other meaning my words held and then he visibly relaxed, shaking slightly. "You understand?"

"Yes…" he said, and I pulled my hand away from the button. He picked up his cell-phone and pressed a few buttons. "Matsuda-san…would you please send Matt, Mello, Near and Father Lucent into the room? I don't care if you have to wake the priest up, just do it! And if you can't get him here, just get someone who will perform the ceremony. There's a package in my sock drawer…have Matt bring that, please." He clicked the phone shut and tossed it on the bed, pulling me towards him and kissing me. "Have I told you lately…you're a genius?"

I smiled, "No…not lately, it's nice to hear, though. Thank you." Within half an hour everyone we'd asked for was in the room. Near, Mello, Matt, Father Lucent and Matt had a box that he handed to Light. Matt, obviously, was going to act as a city official. For some reason, this being under his array of titles didn't surprise me. He had documentation and looked prepared despite the time. Near had used his status as N and I shot him a grateful look before facing the priest. The ceremony itself was brief and, in my opinion, perfect as we stuck to the standard scripts.

"Do you, Light Yagami, take L to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest's voice rang out in the room and Light smiled at me.

"I do." He sounded so sure of himself and I had to smile in return.

"And do you, L Lawliet, take Light as your lawfully wedded husband?" I shivered at my actual name thrown into a room of people I trusted and one stranger. But I didn't think the priest would tell my secret.

After a few moments where I found myself slightly speechless I nodded, "I do."

I was wondering if rings were in the box, but Light actually surprised me. He didn't have rings, he had bracelets and I laughed at the astonished looks on the faces of anyone watching. I recognized them as he handed one to me and I opened the chainless hand-cuff and clipped it on his wrist before he did the same to me. They were the same handcuffs that had adorned our wrists and joined us together while I'd suspected him of being Kira, the same ones that we'd been wearing when we'd first kiss and first made love…the same one's we'd worn while our relationship unfolded and we'd first said those words that doomed us: I love you. And they were the same handcuffs he'd made me wear when we'd first returned to Headquarters and he'd had his way with me, blindfolded and trusting him. We kissed at our cue and were pronounced married and recognized as such and Mello and Near each signed the paperwork Matt held out for them since they were apparently our witnesses and the priest signed as well.

"So," Light said, smiling at me and pulling me towards the window. "Now I think it's time for my plan. Well, if I die in there, at least I got married first."

"Oh, hush, Mr. Lawliet…" I whispered in his ear and nibbled gently at it. "There'll be no talk of dying, go in there optimistic, please."

"As you wish," was his reply before kissing me thoroughly. And then he pulled away from me completely and was out the door without a backwards glance.

* * *

A//N

I didn't originally plan for the wedding to be in this story but...there it is… O.O

The story called for it.

It really, really did.

So did my hopeless, romantic side.

:D


	25. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentyFive

**Author's Notes**;;

I had to make a change to my last Author Note in Chapter 24…I you re-read it, I thank you but it is not necessary as I re-state here: This is not the last chapter, I realized it would make more sense if I, ah, dragged it out a bit more so to speak.

**Lady Kiome**;; I'm glad you found it as well, thank you SO MUCH for the review! ^-^  
**Yuka-Chan16**(x2);; Katsucon is in Washington, DC, Valentine's Day weekend. And yes…the handcuffs, I thought that would make people laugh. :D  
**Freakitten**;; Well, after this is Tortured Moonlight, AKA Twisted Midnight from Light's POV.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five

I was married. I. Was. Married. Holy Hell, I was _married_. It was…weird. I didn't _feel_ married, as my gaze hit the cuff clanking against the gold and silver bracelet that the Oracles had given me, but I _was_ married. What was marriage supposed to feel like, anyway? I was fairly certain that, married or not, the knot of worry in my gut wouldn't go away as I heard Light knock on the room next door to us from its normal door. I flipped the monitors back on, glad to be alone in the room once more, and place the headphone over my ears as I watched Takada nervously get the door.

I noticed a package on the bed that I hadn't seen before and looked over at it briefly before pocketing it. It had been from Aizawa, apparently he'd managed to get Rem's remains. That was a blessing, at lease. I turned back to the monitors to see Takada still staring at Light in a state of being dazed. "Light Yagami…," she said, eyes wide at how he was standing there when he was supposed to be dead and looking oh-so-gorgeous and she was drinking in the sight of him. "Wh-but how…I mean to say…you…you're dead."

"Takada-san," he said, eyeing her in an appreciative manner that made me jealous although I knew it was all an act. "All this talk of Kira has brought me back…my true purpose will be fulfilled once more with your help." He held out his hand to her and she took it gently, obviously not really understanding.

It was Mikami who seemed to grasp Light's meaning, "Kami! God!" He fell to his knees and bowed reverently, forehead touching the carpeted floor of the hotel room and Light's smile broadened. "That's…why I can't see…your name? You…are Kira." When Light merely nodded his acknowledgement Takada fell to her knees as well. This was a gamble we were taking, we didn't know how much Meadra and Gook, as Shinigami, knew. Armonia wasn't exactly the trusting sort and we were going to try and use that to our advantage. "Kira…please, with you by our side we would truly be…a force to be reckoned with."

I shivered as Light stepped fully into the room and the door shut on its own behind him, closing him off from the hallway and I pressed that button. _Now or never_, I thought as I watched him, knowing he had less than five minutes to get those notebooks. "I need a notebook of my own." He took a seat on the bed as if he were royalty and beneath sitting on chairs. "No, you two need to keep your own note books. I need a Death Note once again, and seeing as I lack one it would be difficult to help you as I should."

Mikami turned to Gook and said, "Please…I know you have another one…this…is everything to your cause. You would have three Death Note holders in our world once more, your King's plan, and we would have our leader. Don't you see…Kihiko was _meant_ to meet his end so _we_ could be reunited with the true Kira."

Eventually, Mikami's words rang true and Gook took the Death Note at his side and placed it on the bed beside Light. The latter played his part well, touching the note book and then looking at Gook as though he could suddenly see him. "This…is truly the best." He opened the notebook and asked, "There are two of you…there must be another Shinigami in here, am I incorrect?" Takada nodded and touched Light with her own notebook and I checked the clock; less than four minutes left. He looked at Meadra and smiled at her, walking over to her casually and looking at. "Good, this is…good. Better than good, two Shinigami and three Death Note users. We will not fail to the legal system this time, not with so many great minds aiming towards a common goal."

"Who will you kill first?" It was Mikami's voice and Light looked at him, his hand tightened around the Death Note and Mikami repeated his question.

"Let's not be so hasty, I need to wait until at least tomorrow before I, myself, use the Death Note, it would only draw suspicion to this area." I checked the clock, less than three minutes, and Light was speaking again. My heart froze and I wondered if he meant any of the words coming out of his mouth, or if he really was just that good at acting… He _knew_ I was watching…didn't he? I was married to him…and I'd known he was a monster before I had agreed to it. But he was different now, or that was what I told myself, it was what I had to believe. My hand went to my stomach once more and my resolve hardened, he would never leave me or the babies…not for a simple book, anyway. But that was part of why I'd asked him to do this…I had to _know_ he was over it, the power-trip, that he would be what I needed in…a husband.

Less than two minutes and I knew he was tracking down the time as well, and he sat down once again. "Rise, both of you, we have plans to make if we wish to reign over this world. Let me see your notebooks…" And they each willingly gave their books into his hands and I took a seat in the chair and let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as he began to flip through them. "Your killings seem…very sporadic and not having much to do with each other, nor do you two seem to have common goals or interests, or even ideals or types of criminals you kill. That…should stop." And then there were sirens and Light stood up, backing towards the door and Meadra snarled.

"The newcomer has betrayed us," and she ripped out her notebook and wrote 'Light Yagami' in it and I sighed with relief. Light stood there, completely nonplussed, as he ripped the cover off of two of the Death Notes in his hands in one swift motion despite the outraged cries of the three in the room. After the forty seconds were up he clutched his chest, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and he fell, face forward, onto the carpet and my world stopped. I didn't know if he was alive or not, if he was faking or…no, no no no! The door got kicked in by a police officer and I kicked down the join adjoining my room to theirs and Light sprung up, grabbing the Death Note out of Meadra's outstretched, grubby fingers. "Nooooo!" she screamed as Mikami and Takada were placed in hand-cuffs and Light walked towards me, trembling slightly, and he threw the two remaining Death Notes down at my feet.

"Don't…ever ask me to do that again…" he said, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around my legs and I could feel he was shaking slightly as he buried his face against my hip. My hands found his hair and I sunk down next to him, my lips finding his gently. I knew what he was referring to; he never wanted me to force him to choose between me or power again, because that was exactly what I had done, inadvertently or not.

"I won't," I said, "I had to know…I had to be sure…" I pulled away a bit and grabbed the Death Notes from the floor and looked over at Mikami and Takada. Apparently they had kept their memories, having touched each other's Death Notes, and for that I was grateful.

"You better be fucking sure, Ryuuzaki…" he said, glaring at me and I laughed. He blinked, confused by my reaction and I just kept laughing, clutching the sudden stitch in my side.

"Oh…" I finally said, "Believe me… You'll be _fucking_ sure I'm sure tonight when we go home." I grinned as he blushed, kissing him on the cheek before standing up and putting the note books in my pocket and then offered him a hand up which he took. I took his hand, my right to his left, and I could hear the clink of metal on metal as we walked through the threshold of the doorway back into the room we'd booked and there was a sudden flash of light and we were suddenly in that purple room again. I' was moderately surprised to see Ryuk there and I looked through the open doorway, pulling Light behind me and we each took seats at the rectangular table across from Evandra and Aaron.

There was another figure at the table and he looked human, save for the pointed ears, and he smiled joyfully at us before digging into his food. I looked down and noticed it was steak and I took a tentative bite when Evandra gestured we join the meal. I watched as Light began to eat as well, both of us a bit wary considering what the last encounter with 'divine sustenance' had resulted in, but it was difficult to deny the powers that be their wishes when they could make one's life oh-so-difficult. "I'm impressed," Evandra said eventually. "You two, once you got over accusing the wrong people," she glared at me and I shrank from those eyes, "You set things right there relatively quickly. Your next stop, of course, is the Shinigami Realm. Armonia has surely gone into a semblance of hiding now, and if he hadn't yet, he will as soon as word reaches his ears of your accomplishments in your own world. As such, tomorrow morning I want you to come back here." Her gaze turned meaningfully to me and she said, "I understand you have a request of our resident blacksmith, Gerald?"

I turned to the man with the pointy ears, slightly surprised, and nodded. "We'll talk that over after dinner, lad," he said, diving back into his own steak and I turned back to Evandra.

"Actually, part of my request is for you as well…" She looked at me oddly and I added, "I was wondering if you could make more of those bracelets." She nodded at me and I understood, it would mean my remaining question or favor, but we didn't really _need_ the bracelets, right? Right. "Nevermind. Tomorrow, we'll come back tomorrow." Suddenly I was anxious to be out of there once more and I put my fork down, appetite ruined. When the others finally finished eating Light and I followed Gerald into the hallway and I presented him with Rem's remains. "I need a weapon." He studied me a moment and then nodded, "So…tomorrow then?" I asked, wishing he would give more reassurance than just a nod, but it seemed to be his way and I eventually gave up, hearing him laughing behind me. Light looked like he wanted to ask me some questions but I gave him a look that said 'later.'

"Aaron, Evandra," he said, studying them carefully and their eyes fell on him. "I wish to use one of my…favors. A detailed map, if you would, of the Shinigami Realm and a compass that would work there." Evandra smiled knowingly, but Aaron's face remained impassive. Light smiled and said, "Let me guess…tomorrow it will be ready?"

"Very wise words," Aaron said; they were the first words he'd spoken since our arrival, which I thought was a tad strange. Then again…everyone had their off days. Eventually we made our way back to the portal and through it; stepping into the hotel room and noticing people swarming about and I checked the clock. It was as if no time had passed in what had certainly been hours to Light and myself, but in the Human world had been merely seconds.

"Well," he said as we stepped fully into the room over the remains of the door I had kicked down, "I'd say that was…enlightening."

"Yes," I agreed, exchanging a look with him. "Let's go home…we need to get ready for tomorrow. I feel rather like a puppet attached to strings and as much as I want to cut them, it would be wrong. I know that saving the world is the right thing to do, I just wish I had some choice in the matter."

"We _do_ have choices, believe me. If we didn't then you would have been stopped when you'd tied me up at Whammy House." I cringed, I still felt guilty about that, and he waved a hand as if telling me he was over it…and maybe he was. "Then I had plenty of opportunities where I could have used the Death Note…and plenty when I wanted to. It…draws you in, well, maybe not you…you might not be human enough," he smiled, showing me he was joking. "It certainly knows how to get my attention. But then I thought of you…and I _chose_."

I gave his hand in mine a gentle squeeze as we walked towards the elevator and I pressed the call button, not quite feeling like taking the stairs this time around. "Leon…" I said as we stepped in, the soft music of Bach reaching our ears and he looked at me. "Thank you." I wrapped my arms around his neck, "For your choice." He smiled back at me, finally understanding, and kissed me. This time, as we kissed, I let the knowledge that we were a married couple flood my mind and I felt elated at the thought, butterflies in my stomach and everything. It had been our marriage that had saved his life, I had known and planned for that, and it was our marriage that I embraced now as more than a necessity, but as something I truly wanted. The doors opened and I ignored them and they closed once more, and still I clung to him, kissing him as if…if I stopped, he would disappear.

When we finally broke for air he said, "I'm not going anywhere…Ryuuzaki, at least not without you." I nodded and pressed the button again and the doors opened. Hand in hand, bracelet to bracelet and cuff to cuff, we walked out onto the street and into the waiting car and headed home.

* * *

A//N

:)

I like that chapterrr.

You should review! :D


	26. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentySix

**Author's Notes**;;

Dedications at the end of the chapter.

Do any of you guys roleplay on myspace? If so, I finally made an L profile. PM me if you want the URL.**  
**Mature Content Waring****

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six:

There was a lot to do when we got home that it really wasn't such a peaceful place. Meadra and Gook had no choice but to follow us there and I locked up their notebooks, wondering vaguely where Ryuk was. Normally I didn't care where Ryuk was, but I wondered if he were still in The Place Between. I summoned Matt and Mello and told them to keep an eye on the books…and the other three Shinigami. I left the note books in their care, each locked in a unique transparent box that I had the key to. They jangled and clinked softly against each other and the only keychain I owned, a small, silver apple charm with the words _I love you_ engraved on the back, and I put the whole thing in my pocket.

We packed the sleeping bags we'd taken from the original Whammy House as well as food, I wasn't sure if we would need them or not but it seemed like a good idea. I took my lock pick set and some knives, as well as a pan in case we had to cook something. I glanced at Light, noticing he was charging up a lot of laptop batteries while packing us a few days worth of clothing.

Finally, after making sure I had enough of anything I would need, I collapsed on our bed and just laid there, letting myself feel exhausted. After a few minutes he sat next to me and curled up to me, laying his head on my chest and I ran my fingers through his hair. I looked down, meeting those cinnamon eyes, and slowly he brought his lips to mine. The kiss was gentle, chaste, nothing like most of our kisses, but it felt nice. We were married, for some reason it felt like a big deal, and I didn't regret at all the location. I deepened the kiss as he moved so he could be more on top of me and he began stripping me, un-wrapping me as if I were some sort of present. Maybe, to him, I was…after all if I stopped to think about it that was sort of how I saw him.

"You're thinking too much," I heard and my eyes found his again and I blinked, a bit surprised as I was jolted out of my thoughts. He laughed, kissing the tip of my nose, "I don't want you to think too hard right now…" He kissed me again and, within seconds, I was completely naked beneath him. I felt his eyes rove over me, examining ever inch of my body, and then his lips followed and I had to smile as he licked, kissed, sucked and bit at every inch of my skin that he could see.

"Light…" I finally said as his hair brushed over my now engorged organ, "Stop…teasing…" He grinned at me and then took me into his mouth. "Mmmm," was all I could manage as he brought me close to that precipice, and then he pulled away and I watched as he sucked on his own fingers. The sight was provocative, and I bit my lower lip as his fingers slid in and out of his mouth suggestively and my legs spread as if of their own volition. He grabbed one of my legs and slipped it over his shoulder as he slid two fingers inside of me without warning. "Nnng…" I moaned, it didn't hurt yet, and then he slipped a third finger, stretching me a little as he probed inside of me and located the prostate. I was fairly certain we'd done this enough times for him to be able to do so blindfolded, and then my other leg was lifted up over his other shoulder and he was inside of me. His hands trailed up slowly, his right stopping to wrap around my length and the other meeting my right hand, fingers lacing with my own. His eyes locked on mine as he started moving inside of me slowly, purposefully, angling so he hit my prostate with each thrust. "Unnng…ohhh," my eyes fluttered closed and he stopped moving. I blinked, opening them once more and looking at him curiously.

"That's better," he said, smiling as he began to move again. I kept my eyes on his and he began moving a bit faster, picking up speed gradually as he set a rhythm. "Aaah…L…" he panted and I began gyrating my hips in time to his thrusts, wanting more and letting him know with my body language and my eyes.

"Light!" I gasped as suddenly he was pounding into me, burying himself completely inside of me before pulling almost all the way out, then he repeated the process. "Haaa ohgod…Light..." I said and my eyes began to close, but I wrenched them open once more. He kissed me then and I leaned into it, meeting him halfway as my free hand wrapped around his neck then slid up, falling into those brown silken threads and when we finally broke the kiss both of us were sweaty messes but he still looked beautiful. Then I felt his hand stroking me again and I let out a wordless scream from the intensity of what I was feeling. It was unique, heavy, to have to keep my eyes on his…and I didn't want to look away.

I saw him losing that perfect control he always had and his rhythm became more erratic, his breathing quicker and I knew my own was doing the same; but my eyes never left his despite feeling like my entire body was on fire. His eyes darkened and he thrusted more forcefully and my legs slipped down around his waist and he screamed my name, his eyes glazing over and my orgasm hit me like a tidal wave as he buried himself completely and stayed there, a constant pressure on my prostate and my eyes almost closed again but I managed to keep them locked on the golden god whose seed was pouring into me like molten lava as my own juices slid down his hand. He thrusted in and out a few more times gently before pulling out of me and collapsing next to me on the bed. "Wow…" I said, turning towards him and wrapping my arms around him tightly.

"Yeah…" he said, kissing my forehead and holding me tightly. My mind felt completely and utterly gone, blown away, and I let it as I pulled the blankets around us both. It didn't take long for either of us to fall asleep, but he passed out first and, as was now apparently my habit, I drifted off to the sound of his snores. The next morning I woke to the sound of the alarm clock and I sat up slowly, watching as he woke up as well. "Hi…" he said, pulling me towards him and kissing me lightly before slipping out of bed and stretching.

"Hi…" I said simply as I got out of bed as well and took his hand, pulling him in the direction of the bathroom and turning on the water. We took our time washing each other's bodies and just being in each other's company. We were about to spend more time together, but it was still nice to be able to relax as we were. When we were out of the shower and dressed once again I called Matsuda from Light's cell-phone. "Matsui-san…Light and I have to leave town, I'm not sure how long we will be gone for…if we aren't back within three days please have the Death Notes in police custody destroyed."

"Uh…yes, sir." He didn't sound very sure of himself and he added, "Good luck…"

"Thank you, Matsui-san…" I said, and then I hung up. We each took a sleeping bag and a duffel as I took his hand, knowing the next doorway we walked through would take us to The Oracles. "You ready?" I asked him.

His eyes met mine and he smiled at me, giving my hand in his a gentle squeeze and he began walking towards the door. A moment before we stepped through he said, "No." But he pulled us through anyway and we walked that brightly lit portal before stepping foot in the purple room once more. I looked around and saw the adjacent door was already open and the others were waiting for us. Ryuk, Aaron, Evandra and Gerald were sitting at the table and, for once, the table didn't have food on it.

It didn't take long for us to silently sort out what was going on and Gerald handed me a short sword, or something that could even have passed as a very long knife, and I thanked him as I noticed the slightly curved blade. He handed me a sheath and I looked at it oddly before Light handed me his belt. I flashed him a grateful smile before sliding it through the loops and the sheath and locking it in place. The Oracles handed Light what was obviously a map and a small, round device with a compass inside of it. "We're told Armonia is hiding in the northwest," he pointed to what looked like a mountain range and I met Aaron's eyes quickly before looking back at the map. And then we were being ushered back into that purple room and sent on our way, through the portal once more and suddenly everything around us was gray. Gray sky, gray land…gray trees. I looked towards Light, feeling a sudden panic, but he was there and he was all so _human_ looking it made me relieved. I looked down at my own body just to be sure and, yes, I was human as well.

It didn't take us long to adjust to the compass' direction and we began walking. There was no sun and therefore no shadows, only insurmountable shades of gray. In that place that time never seemed to touch yet whose timeline ran alongside that of the Human World, we walked until we were past our exhaustion points…we walked and only stopped when we had to go to the bathroom. We stopped, also, when eating was a necessity and we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, saving the canned food just in case. As it turned out, the laptop we had brought didn't work anyway.

Finally, when the mountains were in our range of vision, we let ourselves collapse beneath one of the shapeless, leafless gray trees and, once we were still long enough, the bone-numbing cold began to creep in. Finishing our sandwiches I pulled out one of the sleeping bags and opened it up, unzipping it before taking out the other one, which was insulated, and laying that one on the ground. Light slipped into it and I took the belt with the sheath off before joining him inside the sleeping bag. It was snug, but we were better off that way if we wanted to stay warm. Body heat was an amazing source when it came to doing that and I pulled the other sleeping bag over us as an extra blanket. The realm of the Shinigami was truly barren, and I turned towards Light, snuggling against him. We were probably the only things alive in that entire world…it wasn't a comforting thought.

When I woke up Light was already awake, but he hadn't moved. Our bodied were pressed tightly together, limbs entwined, and I blinked warily as I realized I'd woken up with morning wood. I ignored it, neither of us particularly feeling very comfortable with the thought of indulging in any sexual activities while in enemy territory, and I also had to pee. I relieved my bladder while Light packed up the camp, and then he took his turn and we ate sandwiches while we walked. We were beginning to run low on that type of food and I knew we'd have to get a fire going that night to cook beans. It wasn't a happy thought, although I wanted a warm fire, I didn't want to give our location away with something so obvious. But we had to survive, and so we walked onward, again pushing ourselves unto the point of exhaustion before we made camp. I was satisfied now that we seemed much closer to the goal of the mountain, and he got a fire going with some gray branches. The orange glow was strange and even seemed to have a gray tint to it and I wondered if it was because of the wood, but I ignore that as I sat close to it and heated some beans on the pan I'd brought. Camping food sucked; there was just no way around that. We ate from the pan and afterwards I cleaned the utensils and pan with one of the bottles of water I'd brought. I drank some of the water before giving him the rest and he drained it while I packed away the cooking materials.

The next morning I woke up first and studied the map Light had been given before struggling against going back to sleep. I succeeded, barely, and when Light woke up at last I felt suddenly nervous. We were almost there. Day three of traveling began slowly as we ate cold leftover beans from the night before throughout the day, and I was slightly alarmed at the fact we hadn't yet run into a single Shinigami. I didn't really worry about it, if it turned out to be a problem, then it was a problem later and nothing I could do at the moment would help. Once in the mountains our movement slowed as we climbed. I felt my foot hit a loose rock and Light grabbed my arm as I slipped onto my back, sliding down the face a bit before his grip on my arm stopped me. After that, we were both a lot more careful, naturally that made us move even slower.

It wasn't until the next day that we hit a break in our search and found a cave entrance into the mountain that looked like it had been used recently. I pulled out a flashlight glad that at least worked as our surroundings became pitch black. I handed Light a flashlight and he turned it on, the beam joining mine in sweeping the cavern. Nothing interesting…aside from a pathway leading further into the mountain; we exchanged a look before, almost in unison, moving toward it.

* * *

A//N

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

**Shannara810**;; Yes, I think L trusts Light a lot more now…  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; Ha, yeah, I was like…the cuffs…I had to. ^-^  
**dragongirl17**;; XD I decided they deserved a bit of happiness after all the crap in the first one. o.o  
**Lady Kiome**;; Yes, Tortured Moonlight is next, and I'll be writing random one-shots as a break from this saga.  
**Freakitten**;; Thank you for the reviews! And…you're welcome.  
**Yuka-Chan16**;; XDD –feels loved- XDD  
**GreatCheezyPoofGirl**;; THANKS!!! I'm glad you like it so much! I wanted it to be a good blend of serious, WAFF and good ol' smex. lol


	27. Tainted Starlight::Chapter TwentySeven

**Author's Notes**;;

**Freakitten**;; WOOT!! -hugs- YAY I'm so happy you like my writing that much ^-^  
**glostarz**;; Thanks for the review! Ahhh it's so weird this is ending soon! o.o  
**UnratedCrimsonBlood**;; LOL. Chocolate is amazing. Anywayyyy… XD  
**Yuka-Chan16**;; Yay for glomping! XD I can't wait to get glomped at the convention.  
**Shannara810**;; Nope, that was why that last sex scene was so detailed before they left…last lemon of the fic. O.O

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

We followed the trail to a round room that had a throne in it, but it was devoid of any aside from us. Armonia was either very confident no one would dare confront him, or he was very foolish. I didn't care which one it were, both had their weaknesses. "Well well," I heard from behind me and I spun, taking in the form of a Shinigami who seemed to consist of goo and…eyeballs. My stomach made its opinion known as it churned in a _I want to throw up_ type of way, but I ignored it and Nu spoke once more. "It seems we have visitors…_live_ ones, too. Now that is an occurrence that I don't believe has ever happened before…" She paused and watched us, "If you were normal humans who owned Death Notes…then I would not be able to see your lifespans. I can see lifespans…but not your names."

That was good news, at least…it meant that Matsuda had followed my instructions and destroyed the three Death Notes in the Human World. "Yeah, well…we're unique," Light said, smirking as he started moving around me. What was he plotting? How would this help me? I didn't want him away from me I wanted him to stay next to me. And then I saw…he was angling around to as to distract Nu so I could do something. "I mean…we're humans in the Shinigami Realm, which should point out our rarity alone…" He stopped moving and most of her eyes moved toward him. I felt reluctant to use the sword so soon, but I didn't particularly feel like dealing with Nu. The sword, though, was meant for Armonia.

And then Armonia came into sight as if my thought had summoned him. I knew that weren't the case…I knew that was not true. But he floated out of the shadows, a single hand outstretched and _he was holding a knife_ and he was _standing right behind Light_. "Light!" I screamed and he turned, ducking into a roll just before the knife struck the air his face had been in a moment earlier. All Hell broke loose as Nu threw herself towards Light who seemed to be holding her off just fine, and I stepped up to Armonia, my own sword glittering like diamonds despite the lack of proper lighting. My flashlight, I realized, was discarded on the floor but then he was driving that knife towards me and I stumbled backwards a bit.

I ducked, bringing my body into a squatting position briefly before stabbing upward towards Armonia's abdomen and rolling to avoid his dagger. The dance went on for a few more moments in this fashion, strike and dodge, strike and parry. I knew I needed an advantage soon or I would lose, his body simply did not get tired like mine would, and I chose to be a bit risky. I stepped toward him and stabbed at his throat. He moved at the last second, the blade of his knife meeting my hand where flesh met sword hilt and my newly acquired weapon went flying. I watched as it landed, occupying a space about ten feet from me, and dodged as he attacked again and looked at the shallow cut my right hand had sustained from his blade. Nothing major, I would live, although it would bleed quite a bit. I rolled out of the way and then my own sword was in Armonia's hand. _I didn't see him move_, I thought, and I looked up as the sword began to descend in a clean arc towards my chest. There was nothing for it, my body just didn't move like it had used to. The pregnancy slowed me, the extra weight and the fact that I was becoming disproportional and hadn't had sufficient training time to adjust to these new details were my downfall. I didn't want it to end like that…I didn't want _them_ to end because of me.

Armonia froze, my sword dropping with a clatter at my feet and then I noticed a small, silvery-looking snake with its fangs buried in the Shinigami's neck before both snake and God of Death disappeared. I had a moment where Light's eyes met mine and I looked past him at where Nu was recovering on the floor of the cavern. She looked in our direction and I realized Light had used the snake around his wrist to save my life. "Light…Lawliet." I grabbed the sword as she grabbed her Death Note, apparently impatient to do away with the human that had caused her so much trouble, and I wondered if I could get there in time. I ignored the burning in my hand, suddenly numb to it considering Light's life was in danger, and she got up to defend herself a moment before her head was lopped off.

Her Death Note fell to the ground as the sword in my hand disappeared and she turned to sand and rust. I knelt and opened the note book and saw how close Light had come to death. _Light Lawli_ - two more letters written and he would have been killed. I ripped the cover off the book and viciously tore at the pages and didn't stop until there was less of it left than a shredder could have done. It was then I noticed two things. The first was that Light's arms were around me and we were both kneeling on the ground at that point, and the second was that I was crying. I turned, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his shoulder.

"You stupid…idiotic…moronic…imbecile." I pulled away from him and hit him in the shoulder hard enough he said 'ow.' "You shouldn't have done that!"

"Hey," he said, grabbing both my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "It worked out, didn't it? Besides…" he slipped a hand to my stomach, "I couldn't let him do that…" I nodded and threw my arms around him again, ignoring how cold it was in favor of just sitting there with him and felt safe in his arms. It was completely nonsensical, to feel safe with him, because I knew that he alone couldn't really make me safe from _everything_ in the world…but I let myself get lost in the pretty lie. "Come on…let's get out of here."

I nodded again and slowly stood up, and together we made our way out of the cave and my right hand joined with his left, bracelets clinking together as we exited the mouth of the cave and I was hoping it would act as a doorway. Then the light surrounded us again and we were back in that purple room. There were a lot of things I'd been prepared for, but what we saw wasn't one of them. The dining room was a disaster zone and I could see Gerals and Evandra on the floor, a blue liquid seeping out of them and I ran in. No pulse…which meant they were dead. I looked around and spotted Aaron, wounded and unconscious, and then I heard Ryuk's voice from behind me and it wasn't his usual laugh.

"This place…cannot exist without The Oracles. The Place Between is centered on them, the Worlds need them…" His voice shook a bit as he spoke and I turned to face him, noticing he looked like he'd lost a favorite puppy. "There must always be two or the equilibrium will be…thrown off."

I headed back to Aaron's side and began to bandage the gash on his abdomen with strips of my shirt and I poured some water on his face and then his throat. He coughed, sitting up a bit and I helped him as he leaned heavily on me and regained consciousness. "I…saw it coming. I knew…it was inevitable and…would buy you two the time you needed but…" His gaze found Evandra's form on the floor and I flinched as he let out an agonized howl. His sister, his twin, was gone… I remembered how I felt when I'd seen Light clutching his chest at the hotel…and then in Mu when Nu had figured out his name. "No…" Aaron whispered and crawled to her side, tears sliding down his cheeks as he collapsed next to her, and the starlight that filtered in through the windows felt tainted with the blood that had been spilled.

Eventually we got the whole story from them. Armonia had shown up with Nu the day after Light and I had entered the Mu. The battle that had ensued lasted a day and a half as both parties tried to defend themselves while taking the offense, but eventually the Shinigami over-powered the Oracles and the blacksmith. Ryuk, who normally never took sides, had fought against the Shinigami on the side of The Oracles but it hadn't been enough. Eventually we managed to bury Gerald and Evandra and I asked for my last favor from Aaron that my brothers Mello and Matt be allowed to spend a night here and eat the food. I didn't explain any of it to Matt or Mello, they could figure it out when they wanted to, and Light asked Aaron if he could help Sayu and be a kind of mentor for her in controlling her precognition.

The following few months were busy as the bangles came off our wrists. We felt much safer since the Shinigami had voted and their new king, Ryuk, was safely on his throne and plenty busy in Mu. It also entered month five and we discovered the gender of the twins: female. Wonderful. I often found myself inept when in the same room with others of my gender, raising two girls was going to be interesting, to say the least. The irony did not escape me, either, but we had other things to focus on as Aaron and Sayu met more regularly.

I wasn't very surprised when Mello announced, to his own astonishment, that he had gotten with child and I was fairly certain Matt was happy about it as well. Near and Matsuda were often found together, arguing over action figures and toy train sets and we left them to it. I didn't know if that romance would ever develop or if they were both too oblivious to see the obvious attraction they each held for the other, but I wasn't going to force anything. Light and I spent more time at Sachiko's house with her and she fussed over me, annoyed she hadn't been invited to our wedding and I eventually agreed to have a second wedding in which more people could be invited if merely to sate her and she was happy. I kept in contact with Mogi as well, and Aizawa gradually stopped giving Light and I a hard time about our sexual orientation. It seemed he was finally coming around, that was a relief at least.

And Light and I were more or less happy. He got a job with the police, the job he'd always wanted in his pre Kira days apparently, and I resumed my role as L…super sleuth. But I didn't take as many cases as I once had, I let N take most of them and only helped him on occasion. I let Mello keep the names Coil and Deneuve. I liked the feeling that the others were out there if I didn't want to take a case, if I wanted to relax and not work for a while. I got busy as I began to set up a nursery in the apartment at Headquarters Light and I were still living in. Matsuda chose to live there as well, but Mello and Matt moved back to Whammy House which wasn't really a surprise. Mogi moved his family in and Near, while he didn't _live_ there he had his own floor, but spent a considerable time on Matsuda's.

Misa got over it, grudges were mean things to keep and she didn't really have a mean heart. Her career flourished as was expected, but she kept our secret and I was grateful for that. She even began visiting us once in a while, and I got the impression that maybe someday she might even forgive us completely. And Light and I picked out names. Quinn, named after Watari (Quillsh), and Leona, named after my own birth mother who I knew had died in a car accident. It hadn't taken long to figure out the mysteries of my past and I hadn't initially wanted to, but Light convinced me I would feel better knowing the small things like who my mother had been, and it turned out he was right. He had developed a knack of knowing what would or wouldn't be good for me, and I didn't really mind…most of the time, anyway.

The one romance that surprised me the most was the one that developed between Sayu and Aaron. The two were a perfect example of opposites attracting, and eventually it was decided that Sayu could take up residency in The Place Between since two Seers were needed to keep balance. No one would ever truly replace Evandra, but Sayu didn't want to. It was hard to lose a loved one, especially a sibling, and Sayu understood that considering she'd believed Light to be dead for about ten years.

There weren't any complications with the pregnancy, and Sandra stayed in Japan until a few days after the twins were born, even though they were a few weeks early. The Caesarian surgery would leave a permanent mark on my stomach, but I didn't really mind the scar considering the two bundles of joy it had produced. I went on birth control and was glad to be back on my regular diet of all things sweet as time moved on, but my body seemed to have gotten used to actually sleeping and I wasn't sure I wanted to go back to the days of insomnia from before I'd gotten pregnant. Light preferred me getting sleep as well, and the theory of Pavlov's Bell rang true. His snores continued to put me to sleep, and it wasn't a bad thing. The twins, it turned out, were going to be the most pampered and spoiled girls on the planet. They had a sweet grandmother who would give them anything, and Aunt that was an Oracle and watched over the Worlds, then as other uncles the girls had the world's top three detectives as well as the Chief and Vice Chief of the police department looking out for them. And they had Light, a devoted father who was clumsy at first with them but he eventually got better at it. Oh, and they had me…but I wasn't really anything special, at least not in my opinion.

We'd still be extra careful and enroll the girls, when the time came, with the name Yagami just in case…and we had bracelets made for them and us _just in case_. Paranoia had its perks, and it had been useful in the past, and it never hurt to be too prepared.

As eccentric and odd as my life had turned out to be, certainly not how I'd ever pictured it would wind up, I realized this was a better happy ending than any I'd ever dreamt of before. Never could I have imagined any of this, which made it all the more perfect.

THE END

* * *

A//N

ZOMG IT'S OVER!!!! -cries!- Wellll I still have Tortured Moonlight to write, as well as some fun one-shots. OH and I'm taking requests for those! ;) PM me or leave your request in a review!

I love reviews!


End file.
